SUPPLEMENT
T o
MEDICAL BOTANY,
O R,
PART THE SECOND:
CONTAINING
PLATES with DESCRIPTIONS
OF MOST OF THE
.%* PRINCIPAL MEDICINAL PLANTS
| NOT INCLUDED IN THE MATERIA MEDICA
OF THE
COLLEGIATE PHARMACOPOEIAS OF LONDON AND EDINBURGH:
ACCOMPANIED WITH
CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAIL OF THEIR MEDICINAL EEFECTS,
AND OF THE
DISEASES IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED,
By WILLIAM WOODVILLE, M.D. F.L.S.
Phyfician to the Small Pox and Inoculation Hofpitals.
Scire pot eft at es herb arum ufumque medendi
Maluity et mutas agitare inglorius artes.
VlRG. JEs. I. XII.
LONDON:
PRINTED AND SOLD FOR THE AUTHOR,
b y
GEORGE YARD, LOMBARD STREET.
M.DCC, XCIV.
It will be readily perceived that the plan, upon which
this volume was begun, has been confiderably contracled. To illujlrate
all the natural orders with an adequate number of medicinal plants,
which was my original intention, would, as I found upoii more fully
invefigating the fubjebl, lead to the introduction of a great many
vegetables, which, in a medical point of view, might be thought unim-
portant, or entirely ufelefs; — hifluenced by this confideration, and at the
fame time f tiding that the more immediate duties of my profcfion afforded
me but little leifure for profecuting a work of this kind, I did not
hefitate to reduce this part to the narrow compafs in which it is here
prefented. — This volume is therefore rather to be regarded as a Supple-
ment to the three former, than as a Second Part ; and more efpecially as
containing an appendix to the Materia Me die a, and the following
articles admitted into one or both of the collegiate pharmacopoeias , viz.
agaricus, atigelica fylvefris, ariflolochia tenuis, cajeputa, cafcarilla,
curfuta, lacluca virofa, f ant alum rubrum, Ssf citrinum, fcolopendrimn,
and winteranus cortex.
On taking a fnal leave of Medical Botany, which owes
much of the merit it may poffefs rather to the execution of the artift than
to the compiler, I am happy in the opportunity of acknowledging, with
gratitude, the favourable manner in which it has been received by the
public in general, and by medical gentlemen in particular.
CO
M ' " i — i i.i ■ . ■ « i ; ii ' ■ '■ ' ■ ' " ■ ■ ■■ . - . . - ' "— -
A Question has been afked, to which it may be necefiary here
briefly to reply, viz. Why we have not figured all the Plants enume-
rated in the Catalogues of the Firft Part of Medical Botany,
but have omitted Hordium di/iic/jon, Triticum hybernum, Avena fat'iva,
Piper Cubeba, Santalum alburn^ Amyris Elemifera, Myroxylon pcrui*
jferian, Stalagmitis Cambogioides, Boletus igniarius, Cocos butyracea.
TftE three firft, barley, wheat, and oat, are fq well known,
and have fo little claim to a place in Medical Botany, that it was
fuppofed a majority of our readers would deem their figures fuper-
fluous, Befides, their feeds are unqueftionably to be confidered as
articles of food rather than of medicine. Of Piper Cubeba, Santa-
lum album, Myroxylon peruiferum, Stalagmitis Cambogioides, and
Cocos butyracea, we have not been able to procure proper fpecimens,
nor are there any perfect figures of them publiihed ; fo that the plates
of thefe were unavoidably omitted. Refpecting the Amyris Elemifera
Lin. we have to abferve, that after fully investigating the authorities for
admitting this to be the tree which produces the officinal drug
Elemi, we are convinced of their infufficiency, and that the name
Elemifera is here erroneoufly applied ; and therefore, though we
obtained a good fpecimen of this fpecies, we had no plate of it
engraved,
Boletus igniarius, or agaricus chirurgorum, is not properly a
medicinal article, nor is it of much importance in furgery j and
No. i .—Part II, A it
( a )
It may be farther obferved, that it is a fungous fubftance, varying in
its appearance, and not eafily admitting of being chara&eriftically
reprefented by a drawing; it is prefumed therefore that our work
fuftains no difadvantage by its omiffion.
The Author takes this opportunity of obferving, that all the
figures which he has publifhed, were taken either from dried or
recent fpecimens, excepting in very few inftances, where he was
under the neceflity of reforting to the plates of others ; this, how-
ever, was never done but upon unqueflionably good authorities.
■
And whenever future difcoveries fhall fhew that he has been milled,
he will not fail to acknowledge it : the only inftance that has yet
occurred to him is the following of Cafcarilla.
Hill ■ lj— IIIMII I
CLUTIA ELUTERIA* CASCARILLA CLUTIA.
STNONYMA. Cafcarilla. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Elutheria
et Eluteria, Audorum. Clutia (Elutberia) foliis cordato-lan-
ceolatis. Mill. Di£l. Aman. Acad. vol. $. p. 411. Hort. Cliff.
486. Flor. Zeyl. 366,
Clafs Dioecia. Ord. Pentafcdria. Lift. Gen. Plant. 11 40,
Gen. Ch. Ma sc. Cal. 5-phyllus. Cor. 5-petala.
Fem. Cal. 5-phyllus. Cor. 5-petala. Stylt 3. Capu
3-locularis. San. i«
Sp. Cb. C. foliis cordato-lanceolatis, THIS
f
i
(
t
( i )
TH I S fmail tree grows feVeral feet in height, and lends oft*
numerous branches, especially towards the top : the bark which
covers the branches is brown and fmOoth, but that of the trunk is
externally more white and rough : the leaves are entire, lanceolate,
fomewhat cordate, and elongated towards the apex, which is blunt>
on the upper fide of a bright green, on the under fide paler, and
placed alternately upon long footftalks* Both the male and female
flowers Hand in Spikes, and are compofed of a calyx divided into five
ovate leafits, enclofing an equal number of fmall whitifh petals, and
within thefe the ne&aria are placed. The female flower produces a
roundifh germen, Supporting three bifid Spreading Styles, terminated
by obtufe ftigmata : the capfule is globular, rough, marked with fix
furrows, and divided into three cells, containing a Solitary oval
mining feed.
We have been defirous of introducing the annexed plate into early-
notice, in order to determine what was left doubtful in the formef
part of this work, where the Croton Cafcarilla is figured, on the
authority of Linnaeus;1 though at the fame time we obferved that it
did not appear " fufHciently afcertained" whether or no it furnifhed
the officinal Cafcarilla. This point however we can now confidently
decide in the negative.
Among other circumftances, which tended to involve the paren-
tal Source of Cafcarilla long in uncertainty, was the aifertion of
Some authors,b that it was a native of the Spanifh Main, and was
thence imported into Europe ; thus founding a prefumption, that
the Cafcarilla and Elutheria Barks were different, and that the latter"
only was the produce of the Bahama Iflands. But this affertion we
have difcovered to be contrary to fad: ; for, upon inquiry, we do not
find that this drug was ever exported from Spanifh America, but that
the Bahamas have conftantly fupplied the European markets with
CaScarilla bark, a parcel of which was fent here from one of thofe
Iflands, along with fpecimens of the tree producing it ; of which the
figure here given is a faithful representation, as may be Seen by com-
paring it with the original in the herbarium of Sir Jofeph Banks*
* The bark of this plant, according to Dr. Wright, has none of the fenfible quali-
ties of Cafcarilla*
k See Boulduc. Hl/i» de VAc. da Sc. 17 19. p. 14. Spielmann AL M. p. 249.
But
( 4 )
But it will, be neceffary to obferve here, that^Dr. Wright, in his
account of the medicinal plants growing in Jamaica/ gives the name
Croton Elutheria to a tree, the bark of which he fays " is the fame
as the Cafcarilla or Elutheria of the mops it feems therefore pro^
bable, that different fpecies of Clutia may produce bark of the fame,
or of fimilar qualities to that of Cafcarilla,as we find feveral inftances
jn which the fame drug is produced by various fpecies of plants.
That the tree here called by Dr. Wright Croton does not belong to
this genus, but it is evidently a Clutia, appears by the dioicous fpe-
cimens of it fent by him to the Prefident of the Royal Society; a part
of which, with the male flowers, is delineated in the prefent plate,
in order that the Jamaica and Bahama Cafcarilla may be compared
together ; the former being diftinguifhed by figure I.
The Clutia Eluteria feems to have been firft introduced into Britain,
by Mr, P. Miller ; but it is not to be found in the King's garden at
Kew, nor have we feen it cultivated any where near the Metropolis,
According to a late German author/ it grows abundantly in the
Bahama Iflands, where the bark, which forms a principal export, is
fold at the very low rate of iar. 6d. ty*
Reflecting the medical hiftory, qualities, and ufes of Cafcarilla
bark, we have nothing to add to what is given in the firft volume of
Medical Botany,
e Med. Journ. vol. 8. p, 3.
* Vide J. D. Schaepf. Reife durch einige der mittlern und fudlichen vereinigten
iiordameritanifcben Jiaaten nac oft- Florida icndden Bahama Infeln,
MEDICAL BOTANY,
( s )
MEDICAL BOTANY-tPART SECOND.
ASPERIFOLIjE.
[The following fix Plants, as belonging to this natural order, are publifhed
together; an arrangement which ivejh all conflantly adopt in future, as far as the
limited number of plants coming within our province will conveniently admit.]
PULMONARIA OFFICINALIS. COMMON LUNGWORT,
SYNONYM A. Pulmonaria, feu Pulmonaria maculofa. Pbarm.
Geoff. M. M. Dak, 135. Lewis, 525. Edinb. New Dlfp. 261.
Bergius, 83. Murray, vol. 1. p. 97. Gerard, Emac. 808. Rati
Syn. 226. Park. Par ad. 448. Symphytum maculofum five pul-
monaria latifolia. Bauh. Pin. 259. Pulmonaria officinalis. Hudf,
Flor. Aug. 8 1 . With. Bot. Arr. 1 93. Sowerby, Eng. Bot. 118./. 1 1
Flor. Dan. 482.
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 184.
Gen, Ch. Cor. infundibulif. fauce pervia, Cat. prifmatico 5-gonus,
Sp. Ch. P. foliis radicalibus ovato-cordatis fcabris.
THE root is perennial : the Items fimple, erect, angular, rough,
and frequently rife above a foot in height : the ftem, leaves are fome-
No. 1. — Part II. B what
( 6 )
what ovate, or rather lanceolate, broad pointed, hairy, alternate, and
On the upper fide fpeckled with whitifti macule : the radical leaves
are broader, and more elongated towards the bafe : the flowers appear
in terminal fafciculi, and are reddiih and purple: the calyx is a prifin
of five fides, rough, and divided at the mouth into five fhort pointed
fegments : the corolla is funnel-fhaped, confiding of a cylindrical
tube, open at the mouth, and a fpreading limb, cut at the margin
into five obtufe fegments : the five filaments are very fhort, placed at
the mouth of the tube, and furnifhed with fimple yellow anthers :
the germen is quadrifid, fupporting a tapering ftyle of the length of
the calyx, and crowned with a blunt notched ftigma : the feeds are
four, roundifh, and lodged at the bafe of the calyx.
This plant is rarely found to grow wild in England, but is very
commonly cultivated in gardens, where its leaves become broader, and
approach more to a cordate fhape, as appears by the detached leaves
reprefented in the plate. The figure itfelf, however, exhibits a fpeci-
men of the fpontaneous growth of this country.
The leaves, which are the part medicinally ufed, have no peculiar
fmell, but in their recent ftate manifeft a {lightly aftringent and mu-
cilaginous tafte ; hence it feems not wholly without foundation, that
they have been fuppofed to be demulcent and pe&oral.
They have been recommended in hemoptoes, tickling coughs, and
catarrhal deflu&ions upon the lungs. The name Pulmonaria, how-
ever, feems to have arifen rather from the fpeckled appearance of
thefe leaves, refembling that of the lungs, than from any intrinfic
quality which experience difcovered to be ufeful in pulmonary com-
plaints.
V
/
LITHOSPERMlTM
( 7 )
L1TH0SPERMUM OFFICINALE* COMMON GROMWELL.
STNO NT MA. Lithofpermum, feu Milium Solis. Pharm. Vide
Geojfroy. Traft. de M, M. vol. 3. p. 742. Dale. Pharmacol. 139.
Aljion. M. M. vol. it. 361. Lewis, M. M. 399. Edinb. New
Difpenf. 223. Murray, App. Med. vol. ii. p. 98. Ray, Synop.
228. Lithofpermum majus erettum. Bauh. Pin. 258. L. mi-
nus. Gerard, Emac. 609. L. vulgare minus. Park. Theat. 432.
L. officinale. Hud/on Flor. Ang. 79. With. Bot.Arr. 189. i?<?/>6*
JPY. Cto. 76. Sowerby. Eng. Bot. 134. /. 134.
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 181.
Gen. Ch. Cor. infundib. fauce perforata, nuda. Cal. 5-partitus.
Sp. Ch. L. feminibus lasvibus, corollis vix calycem fuperantibus}
foliis lanceolatis.
THE root is perennial, fending forth along {talk, which is erect,
ftrong, round, branched, and beibt with m or t briftly hairs : the leaves
are alternate, feffile, lanceolate, entire, pointed, hairy beneath, above
clofely ftudded with minute cartilaginous tubercles, which render them
rough to the touch : the flowers are final 1, of a pale yellow colour,
and are placed irregularly near the ends of the branches, which are
tecurved, but become ftraight on the maturation of the feeds : the
calyx is divided into five fegments, which are tapering, narrow,
pointed, and permanent : the corolla is monopetalous, funnel-fhaped/
mouth naked and nearly clofed ; the tube is fhort, cylindrical ; the
limb is divided at the border into five blunt teeth : the filaments are
fhort, and furnifhed with oblong antherse : the germen is quadrifid :
ftyle filiform, of the length of the tube, terminated by a blunt cloven
ftigma : the feeds are four, but feldom more than two arrive at per-
fection, when they are egg-fhaped, fhining, extremely hard, and of
a grey or yellowifh hue.
It
( 8 )
It is found in various parts of England, affecting a dry gravelly
foil. Its flowers appear in May and June.
This plant, according to Haller,3 pofleffes narcotic powers ; but its
feeds only have been employed for medical purpofes. Thefe feeds,
which we have defcribed above, by their exquifitely polifhed furfacej
and ftony hardnefs, (from which latter circumftance the name Litho-
fpermum is taken,) have long excited the attention of naturalifts.
Pliny confidered them as the greateft curiofity in the vegetable world :
" Nec quicquam inter herbas majore quidem miraculo afpexi. Tantus
eft decor, velut aurificum arte alternis inter folia candicantibus mar-
garitis : tam exquifita difficultas lapidis ex herba nafcentis." b
Grew relates, that the hard cruftaceous part effervefces with acids;6
but the experiment has been fince tried by others without effect : the
internal fubftance of the feed is fofter, and feems to confift of a fari-
naceous, fweet, and oily matter, becoming rancid on being long kept.
Formerly, when medicine was under the dominion of fuperftition
and abfurd conceits, a notion prevailed, that nature pointed out
remedies for different complaints, by bearing a certain refemblance
and fign of the difeafe or part affected : hence the ftony appearance
of thefe feeds was deemed a certain indication of their efficacy in
calculous and gravelly diforders. And though modern writers on the
Materia Medica give no credit to the lithontriptic character of fem.
milii folis, yet they generally afcribe to them a diuretic quality ,« a
power of cleanfing the urinary pafTages, and of obviating ftranguary,
efpecially when employed in the form of an emulfion ;d but probably
the free ufe of any bland diluent would anfwer thefe purpofes
equally well.
The abforbent virtue attributed to thefe feeds is wholly without
foundation, being irreconcileable to the principles of chemiftry.
a Rift, Stirp. Heh. n. 595.
b Plin. lib. 27. c. II. c Grew. Mikt. corp. p. 22.
d Lotum rnovere hifce quidem credo, et in ftranguria efficere aliquid pofle, quum ob
nuclcum emulfivap nature lit. Murray /. c See others alfa of this opinion.
ANCHUSA
214.
( 9 )
ANCHUSA OFFICINALIS. OFFICINAL BUGLOSS,
Or ALKANET,
STNONTMJ. Buglofium. Pbarm. Park. Par ad. 249. Geoff,
v. Hi. 226. Dak. 136. Aljion. vol. it, 91. Lewis. 167. Bergius,
79. Murray, vol. ii. 98. JSfeiv Edinb. Difpenf. 152. Bugloffum
anguftifolium majus. Bauh. Pin. 256. Buglofla vulgaris. Ger,
Emac. 798. Flor. Dan. t. 572,
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 182.
Gen. Ch. Cor. infundibulif. fauce claufa fornicibus, Sem. bail
infculpta.
Sp. Ch. A. foliis lanceolatis ftrigofis, fplcis fecundis imbricatis,
calycibus quinquepartitis, Hort. Kew<
ROOT perennial, large, tapering. Stem about two feet high, erecl:,
angular, ftrong, rough, hairy branched towards the top. Leaves
alternate, narrow, lanceolate, pointed, rough, hairy, edges eroded,
and fomewhat undulated. Flowers purple, produced in corymbi,
both lateral and terminal. Calyx rough, cut into five acute erect
fegments. Corolla funnel-fhaped, tube long, cylindrical : limb
divided into five obtufe fegments : mouth of the tube clofed by five
nectarious fcales. Filaments five, fliort, placed in the upper part of
the tube, and furniihed with fimple brownifh antherae. Germen.
quadrifid : ftyle nearly as long as the tube, tapering, and terminated
by an emarginated ftigma. Seeds four, hollowed out at the bafe. — 1
The flowers appear in fucceflion from June till Odtober.
It is a native of the Continent of Europe, but not indigenous to
this Ifland. Mr. P. Miller cultivated it here in 1748, and we now
find it in moft gardens where variety of herbaceous ornamental plants
is an obje£t of attention.
No. 1 . — Part II, C The
( to )
iThe root, leaves, and flowers of this plant have all been admitted
of the Materia Medica, though it would feem without any juft claim
to that diftin&ion. To the tafte they difcover no other quality than
that of being fweetifh and glutinous, excepting only a flight bitter-
nefs of the flowers.
Bergius afcribes an aperient and refrigerant virtue to this plant,
and ftates its ufe to be in " ardor vifcerum," and alfo in hypochon-
driacs. However, as all the common oloraceous plants are cooling
and laxative, thefe" properties are no peculiar recommendation of
Buglofs.
The utility of. this herb in melancholic and hypochondriacal
diforders has been aflferted ever fince the time of Diofcorides j* and
when it is confidered that wine was generally the vehicle in which
the plant was adminiftered, we are not furprifed that it fo long man-
tained the character of exhilerating the fpirits. In this way likewife
may be explained why the flowers of Buglofs have been reckoned
one of the four cordial flowers.
* " quo vino inditum animi voluptatis augere, hilaritatemque offerrc credi-
tur," &c. DioJ, I. iv. c. 128.
SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE, COMMON COMFREY,
STNONTMA. Confolida. P 'harm. Geoff, vol. Hi. 353. Bale. 138.
Aljhn* vol u 525. Lewis. 248. Edin. New D'ifp. 176. Bergius.
85. Murray, vol. ii. 92. Cullen. v. //V413. Symphytum. Hall.
Stir p. Helv. No. 600. Scop. Flor. Cam. No. 195. Symphytum
Confolida major. Bauh. Pin. 259. Gerard. Emac. 806. Symphy-
tum majus vulgare. Park. Theat. 523. Rait. Synop. 230. S.
officinale. Hndf. Ang. p. Si. With. Bot. Arr. 1 95. Curt. Flor.
Loud. Flor. Dan. 664.
Pentandria
( II )
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1 85.
Gen.Cb. Cor. limbus tubulato-ventricofus : fauce claufa radiis fubulatis.
Sfi. Ch. S. foliis ovato-lanceolatis decurrentibus.
ROOT perennial, large, branched, on the outfide blackifh, within
whitifh. Stalk about two feet high, erect, branched, fomewhat angular,
covered with fhort rigid hairs, Leaves large alternate, thofe below
ftanding on footftalks ; thofe above feffiie, decurrent, ovate, pointed,
entire, rough, and fringed with fhort hairs. Flowers tubular, of a
yellowifh white, placed in fpikes, which turn inwards in a fpiral
manner. Calyx divided into five fegments, which are rough, erect,
and pointed. Corolla funnel-fhaped, confiding of a fhort thick tube,
and a limb nightly cut at the edges into five fhort obtufe reflexed
fegments ; the mouth of the tube clofed by five narrow pointed nec-
tarious teeth. Filaments five, fhort, terminated by yellow erect bifid
antherse. Germen divided into four parts. Style tapering, longer
than the corolla, and furnifhed with a fmall blunt ftigma. Seeds
four, angular, blackifh, fhining, and lodged- in the bottom of the
calyx. It is a common Britifh plant about ditches, flowering from
June till September.
A fuppofed vulnerary efficacy, for which this plant was formerly
in great repute, and to which it feems to owe its name, will now be
confidered as nothing in its recommendation.
However, the root of Comfrey, though rarely ufed, promifes all
the advantages to be derived from that of marfhmallow ; for accord-
ing to Lewis " the dried root, boiled in water, renders a large pro-
portion of the fluid flimy; and the decoctions infpilTated, yield a
ftrong flavourlefs mucilage, fimilar to that obtained from althsea, but
fomewhat ftronger-bodied, or more tenacious, and in fomewhat
larger quantity, amounting to about three-fourths the weight of the
Comfrey." Hence it is inferred, that the confolida is rather fuperior
to the althaea in the feveral intentions for which that root is employed;
the mucilaginous matter being in both roots the only medicinal
principle. Therefore, as the root of this plant is ealily obtained, it
may
( ™ )
may be conveniently fubftituted for that of althaea in all the compo-
fitions in which the latter is officinally directed, or extemporaneoufly,
for the general purpofes of an emollient and demulcent. This opinion
feems alfo to have the authority of Dr. Cullen, who fays, " while
mucilaginous matters are retained in our lifts, I do not perceive why
both the Britifh Colleges have entirely omitted the Symphytum. It
may be of fervice as alleged in diarrhoeas and dyfenteries.'
CYNOGLOSSUM OFFICINALE. COMMON HOUNDS-
TONGUE,
$YNONYMA. CynoglofTum. Pharm. Geoff, v. 3.394. Dale. 135,
Aljion.v. 1. 428. Lewis. 268. Ed. NewDifpetif. 181. Bergius. 82.
Murray. V„ 2. 102. Cullen. ti* 413. CynoglofTum majus vulgare.
Bauh. Pin. 257. Ger. Emac. 804. Park. Theat. 511. Rail.
H'ift* 489. Synop. 226. CynoglofTum foliis ellipticis lanceolatis,
fericeis, caule foliofo. Hall. Hijl. Stirp. Helv. n. 587. C. offici-
nale. Scop. Flor. Cam. 191. Hud/on. FLAng. 80. With* Bot.
Arr. 192. Curt. EL Lond,
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. PL 183.
Gen. Ch. Car. infundibuliformis, fauce claufa fornicibus. Semina
deprefla, interiore tantum latere ftylo affixa.
Bp. Ch. C. ftaminibus corolla brevioribus, foliis lato-lanceolatls bafi
attenuatis tormentofis feffilibus, laciniis calycinis oblongis.
Hort. Kew.
"ROOT perennial, long, tapering, blackifh on the outfide, whitiffi
within. Stalk two or three feet in height, ereft, grooved, villous,
leafy, branched. Radical leaves large, on long footftalks, exceeding
i a foot
( 13 )
a foot in length, ovate, pointed, covered with a fhort mining greyiffc
down; cauline leaves feffile, numerous, lanceolate, broad towards the
bafe. Flowers of a dull red, changing to a bluifh colour, and placed
On flender peduncles, in fpikes. Segments of the calyx five, deeply-
divided. Corolla monopetalous, funnel-fhaped : tube cylindrical,
thick, half the length of the calyx : limb concave, cut into five
roundifh fegments : nectary confirming of five purple fcales, clofing
together, and inferted at the mouth of the tube. Filaments five,,
very fhort. Antherx oblong, green. Germens four, fmooth, of a
yellowifh green colour, fupporting a tapering ftyle, terminated by a
blunt emarginated ftigma. Capfules four, roundifh, rough. Seeds
folitary, ovate, gibbous, pointed, fmooth.
It is common in this country, and ufually found in wafte grounds,
pr fides of roads, and flowers in June and July.
Hounds-tongue, thus named from the fhape of the leaves, like mod
of the other plants of this natural order, is fucculent, and fomewhat
mucilaginous, efpecially its root, which, for medicinal purpofes, has
been generally prefered to the leaves. The tafte of the plant is
bitterifh, and its fmell is difagreeable, refembling that of mice.
CynoglofTum is reported to be deleterious, and the dingy lurid ap-
pearance of its leaves, peculiar to poifonous herbs of the narcotic
kind, feems to favour the opinion ; nor are facts wanting to confirm
it. A relation is given of a whole family at Oxford, who, by
miftake, ate the boiled leaves of this plant for thofe of comfrey : foon
afterwards they were all feized with vomiting, ftupor, fleepinefs, &c.
which fymptoms continued alternately for almoft forty hours, and
with fuch leverity, that one perfon died.1 But what degree of nar-
cotic power Hounds-tongue polTerTes, or to what quantity it may be
fafely employed as a medicine, experience has not yet determined.
The pil. de cynogloflb of the Wirtemburg and Danifh Pharmaco-
poeias contain fo fmall a proportion of this root, that their com-
mon ufe cannot be confidered as affording fufficient proof of its
innocence. Ray however informs us, that Dr. Hulfe frequently
* Vide Morifon Hiji. Oxon. Hi. p. 450. Haller alfo, (Hi/}. Stirp. Heh. r?. 587./
cites a fimilar inftance, mentioned by Dr. Blair ; but the plant ufed does not appear to
have been the.cynogloflum. See Blair's Mifcellaneous Ob/ervations, p. 55.
No. 2. —Part II. D prefcnbed
( H )
prefcribed a decoction of the roots of Hounds-tongue for internal ufe,
and at the fame time applied the roots as a poultice to fcrophulous
tumours with lafety and advantage.11 Hence it appears that this
part of the plant at leaft cannot be confidered as an active poifon.
The leaves and roots of Cynogloflum have been employed with the
fame intention, and principally with a view to their mucilaginous,
aftringent, and fedative qualities, as in coughs, hamioptyfis, diarrhoeas,
dyfenteries, &c.c Their external ufe is alfo recommended in ill-con-
ditioned ulcers and tumours.
* Vide /. c.
9 Vide Schreckius Dijf. di CynogloJJo.
BORAGO OFFICINALIS. COMMON BORAGE.
STNO NTMA. Borago. Pharm. Geoff, v. 3. 201. Dale. 136.
Aljlon. v. ii. 91. Lewis. 1 58. Ed. New Bifpenf. 150. Bergius.
86. Murray, v. ii. 95. Buglolfum latifolium, Borrago. Bauh.
Pin. 256. Borrago hortenfis. Gerard. Emac. 797. Borago
floribus cseruleis & albis. Rati. Hifl. 493. Synop. 228. B. offici-
nalis. Hud/on. Flor. Ang. 82. With. Bot. Arr. 196. Ic. Hart.
Roman. T. 2. t. 20. 21. Eng. Bot. 36. »
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. PI. 188.
Gen. Ch. Cor. rotata : fauce radiis claufa.
Sp. Ch. B. foliis omnibus alternis, calycibus patentibus, j
ROOT divided, fibrous, and in Britain fcarcely more than biennial.
Stalks branched, round, fucculent, hairy, ereft, rifing to the height
of two feet. Leaves ovate, alternate, undulated, hairy, ciliated, irre-
gularly defined at the edges, and at their bafes embracing the ftenu
( )
Flowers large, blue, placed in loofe panicles, upon rough peduncles
turning downwards. Calyx divided into five narrow ovate rough
permanent fegments. Corolla monopetalous, wheel-fhaped : tube
fhort : limb deeply cut into five fpreading pointed divifions, which
are longer than the calyx ; faux or mouth of the tube clofed by five
prominences, which are blunt, and notched at the end. Filaments
five, tapering, converging : antherae oblong, approaching, and fixed
to the middle and inner fide of the filaments. Germens four : ftyle
filiform, longer than the ftamina, and furnifhed with a fimple ftigma :
the calyx fupplies the office of capfule, containing the feeds, which
are four, of an irregular roundifh fhape.
The Borage, although commonly found growing about rubbifh,
and in wafte grounds, is however not originally a native of this
Ifland, but has now been long enough naturalized here to be con-
fidered as a Britifh plant. Its flowers, which appear from June till
September, are of a beautiful blue colour : hence this plant, in many
gardens, is cultivated for ornament, as well as for its popular ufe as
an ingredient in that grateful fummer-beverage, known by the name
of Cool Tankard.
This plant appears to be the bugloflum of the ancients ;* and its
reputed medicinal character feems alfo to correfpond moft exactly
with that of our common buglofs, or anchufa officinalis L. The
flowers of both have been termed cordial, and hence, formerly,
much recommended in melancholia, and other affections of the
nervous fyftem ;b and as thefe flowers were found to poffefs neither
warmth, pungency, nor fragrance, their cordial efficacy has been
afcribed to a faline quality, which, by abating inordinate heat, was
faid to be peculiarly grateful and refrefhing. But though the herbaceous
fubftance of Borage has been difcovered to contain a faline matter,
there is no evidence of its exiftence in the flowers ; fo that the ad-
vantages fuppofed to be derived by a vinous infufion of thefe, like
thofe of buglofs, can only be imputed to the menftruum.
• The following lines therefore apply to this plant :
Vinum potatum quo fit macerata buglofla,
Maerorem cerebri dicunt auferre periti.
Fertur convivas deco&io reddere laetos. Schol Salem* c, 21.
* Hence the trite remark, « Borago, gaudia femper ago."
The
( 16 )
'The leaves oF Borage manifeft nothing remarkable either to the
fmeli or to the tafte ; but they abound with a juice, which, in ita
expreiTed ftate, is faid to be faltifh, and which, on being boiled a
fufficient time, forms cryftals of nitre :c fimilar cryftals have alfo
been obtained from a decodKon of the leaves ;d and hence it may be
inferred, that this plant has a peculiar claim to the pofleffion of re-
frigerating and aperient virtues. Dr. Withering obferves, that the
young and tender leaves are good in fallads, or as a pot-herb.
Cordia Myxa, whofe fruit is of the drupaceous or plumb kind, and
was formerly known in the mops by the name fcbcflen, is the only
remaining medicinal plant placed by botanifts in this natural order
which we have not figured. The leaves of the Myxa, however,
unlike thofe of the other fpecies of Cordia, are fmooth and naked ->
it therefore cannot properly belong to the afperifolise ; and as febeftena
fieem to have no medical advantages over many other dried fruits, we
fhall, without further apology, proceed to the order Perfoliate.
e Marcgraf in Mem. de L*Jcad. des Sc. de Berlin. p. 79.
* Boulduc Mem, de L'dcad. des Sc. dt Paris, 1734. p. 101.
PERSONA T M.
( i7 )
PERSONAT M.
VERBENA OFFICINALIS. COMMON VERVAIN.
STNONTMA. Verbena. Pharm. Bale. 148. Aljion. vol ii. 242.
Lewis. 660. Murray, ii, 209. Verbena communis cseruleo
flore. Bauh, Pin. 269. V. ma& feu recta et vulgaris. Park.
Tbeat.6*jj±. V. communis. Gerard. E??iac. 7 18. Rail. Hifi. 535.
Synop. 236. V. officinalis. Hudf.Flor. Ang. 505. With. Bot.Arr.
595. jF/or. Dtf//. 628. JF/0r. Zofl//. i. 5.
Didynamia Gymnofpermia.*
Ckz?. Cor. infundib. fubsequalis, curva. Calycis unico dente
truncate Semina 2. s. 4. nuda.. aSA7»z. 2. s. 4.
Sp. Ch. V. tetrandra, fpicis filiformibus paniculatis, foliis multindo-
laciniatis, caule folitario.
ROOT perennial, tapering, fibrous, of a yel low iih colour. Stalks
above a foot high, erect, tapering, obtufely quadrangular, befet with
fhort prickles : the branches are oppofite, {lender, and fimple. Leaves
oppofite, feffile, pinnatifid, or deeply and irregularly indented.
Flowers numerous, purpliih, placed in long flender fpikes* Calyx
* Linnaeus places the Verbena in the clafs diandria, dividing the different fpecies into
the diandrous and tetrandrous ; but our Englifti fpecies, included among the latter,
has alfo the characters of the fourteenth clafs, and is arranged accordingly by Britifh
botanifts.
No. 2.— -Part II. E fmall,
( i8 )
fmall, tubular, five-toothed, angular, permanent. Corolla monope-
talous, unequal : tube cylindrical, towards the top bent inward ; limb
expanding, divided into five fegments, which are rounded, and nearly-
equal. Filaments extremely fhort : antherae commonly four, two
of which are placed above the others. Germen fquare: ftyle thread-
fhaped, terminated by an obtufe ftigma. Seeds ufually four, oblong,
obtufe, on the infide flattifh, and white, and on the outfide brown,
convex, grooved, and reticulated.
Mr. Curtis oblerves that " the Vervain may be confidered as a kind
of domeftic plant, not confined to any particular foil, but growing
by the road fides, pretty univerfally at the entrance into towns and
villages and Miller declares that it is never found more than a
quarter of a mile from a houfe : hence it has been alfo called
•Simpler' s Joy.
Ancient writers have diftinguifhed, this plant by the names Verbena,
Verbenaca, and Perifterium.2 It is deftitute of odour, and to the
*tafte manifefts but a flight degree of bitterneis and aftringency.
In former times the Verbena feems to have been held facred, and was
employed in celebrating the facrificial rites ;b and with a view to this
more than the natural power of the plant, it was worn fufpended about
the neck as an amulet. This practice, thus founded in fuperftiticn,
was, however, in procefs of time, adopted in medicine ; and there-
fore to obtain its virtues more effectually, the Vervain was directed
to be bruifed before it was appended to the neck ; and of its good
effects thus ufed for inveterate headaches, Foreftus relates a remarkable
inftance.c In ftill later times it has been employed in the way of
cataplafm, by which we are told the moft fevere and obftinate cafes
* Vide Plin. I. 25. c. 9.
b It appenrs to be the Ie?« /3ot«v», or mtqi^imoc. of Diofcorides. Alfton fays, Verbena
quafi herbena, becaufe all herbs ufcd in iacred rites were fo called. Hence Virgil,
Verbenafque adole pingues & mafcula thura. Eel. viii. v. 65. And Terence in Andria,
Ex ara hac fume Verbenas tibi. But Virgil alfo ufes the word to denote a particular
plant. Vide Georg. iv. 131.
c Ope)'. Omn. L. 9. Obf. 52.
of
( 19 )
of "cephalalgia have been cured ; for which we have the authorities of
tetmuller, Hartmann, and more efpecially De Haen.d
Notwithftanding thefe teftimonies in favour of Vervain, it hat
defervedly fallen into difufe in Britain j nor has the pamphlet of Mr.
Morley,0 written profefledly to recommend its ufe in fcrophulous
affections, had the effect of reftoring its medical character. This
gentleman directs the root of Vervain to be tied with a yard of white
fattin ribband round the neck, where it is to remain till the patient
recovers. He alfo has recourfe to infufions and ointments prepared
from the leaves of the plant ; and occafionally calls in aid the moft
active medicines of the Materia Medica.
* De Haen Rat. Med. P. 6. p. 304.
e See his Efiay on Schrophula.
VERONICA OFFICINALIS. OFFICINAL VERONICA ;
Or, MALE SPEEDWELL.
STNONTMA. Veronica. Pharm. Dale. 186. Aljlon. it. 244.
Birgius. 17. Murray, ii. 205. Rutty. 535. Lewis.. 660. Edinb.
New Bifpenf. 301. Veronica mas fupina et vulgathTima. Baub;
Pin. 246. V. vera et major. Gerard. Emac. 626. V. mas vul-
garis fupina. Park. Theat. 550. Rail Rift. 851. Synop. 281.
Rail. n. 540. V. officinalis. Hudfon. Ang. 4. Lightf. Scot. 27.
Withering. Bot.Arr. 9. Flor. Dan. 248. Flor. Lond. n. 33.
Diandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 25.
Gen. Cb. Cor. Limbo 4-partito : lacinia infiraa angudiore. Capfula
bilocularis.
Sp. Cb.
( 20 )
S/>. Ch. V. fpicis lateralibus pedunculatis, fbliis oppofitis, caulc
procumbente.
ROOT perennial, fmall, 'fibrous. Stalks about fix inches in
length, procumbent, creeping, firm, hairy, or, woolly. Leaves
oblong, obtufe, nightly ferrated, or toothed, rough, placed in pairs,
felTile, or on very fliort footftalks. Flowers purplifh, in fpikes, either
terminal or axillary, each flower ftanding upon a fhort peduncle,
fupported by a linear bradteal leaf. Calyx divided into four feg-
ments, which are ovate, obtufe, and befet with glandular hairs..
Corolla monopetalous, wheel-fhaped, confiding of a fhori tube, ter-
minated by a fpreading limb, of a pale blue colour, and divided into
four unequal portions. Filaments two, white, furniflied with blue
heart-fhaped anthera*. Germen roundilh, deprelTed, vifcous, and at
the bafe glandular. Style filiform, purplifh, and furnifhed with a
ftigma, of a truncated appearance. Caplule irregularly heart-fhaped,
divided into two valves, containing numerous fmall- brown compreffed
feeds.
It is not unfrequent on dry barren grounds, and heaths, as that of
Hampftead, flowering in June and July.
" The leaves of Veronica have a weak not difagreeable fmell,
which in drying is diffipated, and which they give over in diftillation
with water, but without yielding any feparable oil. To the tafte
they are bitterifh, and roughifh : an extract made from them by
rectified fpirit is moderately bitter and aftringent." a
This plant, a century ago, was much recommended, efpecially
in Germany, as a fubftitute for tea ; and the French frill diftin-
guifh it by the name of The cT Europe. But though this European
tea has a roughnefs and a flight bitternefs, which is not ungrateful
to the tafte, yet thefe qualities are fo unlike thofe which we difcover
in the foreign tea, that the extremely high price of the latter, at that
time, muft have been the chief reafon for caufing a contrary opinion,
and of reconciling Europeans to a fubftitute fo imperfect as the leaves
of Veronica.
a Lewis. I. c.
A«
( 21 )
As a medicine alfo this plant has had a confiderable (hare of fame.
"J rancusb and Hoffmann c afcribe to it numerous virtues, the former
calling it Palychrejia herba Veronica. The diforders in which it
has been efteemed moil ufeful are thofe of the lungs, as coughs,
afthmas, confumptions, &c. in which it is faid not only to prove
expectorant, but by its extraordinary vulnerary power to heal internal
ulcers.
Its ufe "has likewife been recommended by feveral authors in various
Other complaints requiring medicines of very different characters ;
but if we judge of the utility of the Veronica by its fenfible qualities,
it is only to be recognized as an aftringent ; and not fufhciently power-
ful as Inch to produce any confiderable effect, and is therefore now
disregarded by medical practitioners.
b Vide Polychrejia herba Veronica^ publifhed in 1690.
e Vide Fr. Hoffmann in Dijf. de infufi Veronica efficacia praferenda herba Thea. —
Alfo Haller. I. c.
EUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS. COMMON EYEBRIGHT.
STNONTMA. Euphrafia. Pbarm. Geoff, Hi. 454. Bale. 196.
Alflon. it. 138. Rutty. 189. Bergius. 543. Murray, ii. 186.
Lewis. 292. Cullen. i. 42. Edinb. New Difp. 187. Euphrafia
officinarum. Bauh. Pin, 233. Ger. E?nac. 663. Park. Tbeat.
1329. Raii Hift. 771. Synop. 284. Euphrafia officinalis. Hudf,
Aug. 268, With. Bot.Arr. 635. Curt. Fior. Lond, 335.
Didynamia Angiofpermia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 741.
Gen. Cb. Cor. 4-fidus cylindricus. Caps. 2-locularis, ovato-oblon^a,
Anther a inferiores altero lobo bafi fpinofse.
Sp. Cb. E. foliis ovatis linearis argute dentatis.
No. 2. — Part II. F ROOT
( ti )
ROOT annual, (lender, divided, furnifhed with numerous minute
fibres: ftalk about three or four inches high, branched, round, fome-
what hoary, reddifh. Leaves feffile, oppofite, ovate, deeply ferrated,
Concave, rather hairy, and on the upper fide marked with linear
impreffions. Flowers without peduncles, in racemi, arifing at the
alae of the leaves. Calyx pentagonal, permanent, divided at the brim
into four fegments, which are unequal, of a dingy purplifh colour,
and befet with fmall glands. Corolla monopetalous, bilabiated, white:
tube cylindrical, crooked, fomewhat hairy, at the mouth yellowifh :
limb feparated into two lips : upper lip erect, bifid, toothed, ftreaked
with three purple lines : lower lip largeft, divided into three emargi-
nated lobes, of which thofe placed laterally are painted with purple
ftreaks, and that in the middle tinged with yellow. Filaments four,
tapering, purplifh. Antherae brown, bilobed, bearded with a few
White hairs at the bottom. Germen egg-fhaped, hairy. Style fili-
form, downy. Stigma blunt, fringed with minute glands. Capfule
egg-fhaped, notched at the end, divided into two cells, containing
feveral whitifh ftriated feeds.
It is common on barren meadows, heaths, and paftures, producing
its flowers from July till September.
Eyebright, without any fenfible odour, is fomewhat bittenfh and
aftringent, communicating a black colour to a folution of ferrum
vitriolatum. It derives its name from its reputed efficacy in various
diforders of the eyes, for which it was ufed both externally* and in-
ternally, and has longb been fo much celebrated as to be confidered
almoft in the character of a fpecific, the " verum oculorum folamen" —
But as there cannot poffibly be a general rerAedy for all difeafes of
the eyes, the abfurd and indifcriminate recommendation of Euphrafia
as fuch, muft receive but little credit from thofe who practice medicine
on rational principles. It muft be acknowledged however, that fome
authors have ftated peculiar complaints of the eyes, in which the ufe
• The ufual way of employing it as an external application was by mixing its juiee
with wine, and then adding a fmall quantity of honey.
k It is mentioned in this character by Gordon, (Lilium Medkina. Fol. 146. ed. 1305)
Alfo by Arnoldus de Villa Nova, Sylvaticus, and others.
of
( *3 )
bf this plant was thought more remarkably evident; and, judging by
thefe, we fhould fay, that eyes weakened by a long continued exer-
tion, and thofe that are dim and watery, as in a fenile ftate, are the
cafes in which Euphrafia promifes moft advantage ; nor are old people
to defpair, for according to Hildanusc and Lanzonusd feveral, at the
age of feventy and eighty years, were recovered almoft from entire
blind nefs*
But though the great reputation which Eyebright formerly fup-
ported for feveral ages, muft have induced fome practitioners of later
days to have tried its opthalmie power ; yet we do not find a fingle
inftance of its efficacy recorded in modern times. How far this
remark ought to invalidate the pofitive teftimonies in its favour, we
leave others to determine.6
The Icelanders are faid to be in the conftant habit of ufing the
juice of Euphralia in all affections of the eyes/
In common with many other plants, the Euphrafia has alfo been
recommended in the jaundice.
e V. cent, epljl. n. 59.
d Oper. Omn. ed. 1738. Tom. 2. p. 394.
The chara&er of Euphrafia was not unknown to Milton :
— — — " then purged with euphrafy and rue,
The vifual nerve, for he had much to fee."
* Bergius fays, " Ego ex propria experientia nihil certi de hac herba adhuc fcio, fed
tamen non fpernenda arbitror teftimonia prifcorum."
t Eggert Ola/sen. Reifey &c. vol. 1. p. 433.
ANTIRRHINUM
( H J
ANTIRRHINUM LINARIA. COMMON TOAD-FLAX.
STNONTMA. Linaria. Pharm. Geoff.Jii. 730. Dale. 193.
Rutty. 289. Berglus. 545. Murray. ii. 183. Lewis. 395.
jVm> Difpenf. 222. Linaria vulgaris lutea, flore majore. Bauh.
Pin. 212. Linaria lutea vulgaris. Gerard, Emac. 550. L. vul-
garis noftras. Park. 458. Rati Hift. 752. Synop. 281. Antirr-
hinum Linaria. Hudf.Ang.iifi. Withering. Bot.Jrr.64S. Curt.
Flor. Lond. i. 5.
Didynamia Angiofpermia. Gen. Plant. 750.
6/6. Cal. 5-phylIus. Cor. bafis deorfum prominens, ne&arifera,.
Caps. 2-locularis.
Sp. Cb. A. foliis lanceolato-linearibus confertis, caule erecto, fpicis
terminalibus feililibus, floribus imbricatis.
ROOT perennial, woody, crooked, creeping, white, fibrous. Stalks
round, ere£t, fimple, tapering, fmooth, from one to two feet in height.
Leaves nearly linear, pointed, fmooth, entire, thickly fcattered over
the ftalk. Flowers large, yellow, and partly orange, crouded over
each other in a terminal fpike. Calyx divided into five fmall oval
fegments, of which the uppermoft is the largeft. Corolla monope-
talous, bilabiated, or ringent, yellow, confifting of a fhort tube, and a
limb compofed of two lips; upper lip bifid, having its fegments bend-
ing down, afterwards turned back, and clofing, together ; lower lip
divided into three fegments, of which that in the middle is the leaft ;
the mouth is clofed by a palate., which is bifid, prominent, villous
at the bottom, and of a faffron colour. Filaments four, white, two
long and two fhort, glandular at the bafe : antherse yellow, bifid,
joined in pairs. Germen round. f Style filiform. Stigma clubbed.
Capfule of a cylindrical form, opening by feveral divilions at the
top,
( H )
top, divided into two cells, containing numerous black irregularly
Jfhaped feeds.
It is frequent in barren paftures, hedges, and fides of roads-,
flowering from July till September.
The leaves of Linaria have a bitterifh and fomewhat faline tafte,
and when rubbed betwixt the fingers yield a faint fmell, refembling
that of elder. They are reported to be diuretic and cathartic, and in
both characters to act fo powerfully as to give names to this plant
expreflive of thefe qualities.* Hence they have been recommended
internally in dropfies, and other diforders requiring copious evacua-
tions. The Linaria has alfo been ufed as a refolvent in jaundice, and in
fuch difeafes as have been fuppofed to proceed from vifceral obftruc-
tions. But the plant has been chiefly valued for its effects when exter-
nally applied, efpecially in hemorrhoidal affections jb for which both
the leaves and flowers have been employed in the various forms of
ointment, fomentation, and cataplafm.*
An infufion of the flowers is faid to be very efficacious in cuta-
neous diforders ; and Hammerin 0 gives an initance in which thefe
flowers, with thofe of verbafcum, ufed as tea, cured an exanthema-
tous diforder, which had refitted various other remedies tried during
the courfe of three years.
An Unguentum de linaria is to be found in the Wirtemburg,
Brandenburg, and Danifh Pharmacopoeias/
8 Viz. Urinalisy HarnArottt, Kreuttcrbuch.
b Vide Horji. Obf. et epijl. med. lib. 4. obf. 50. Sim. Pauiii. Bot. 415. Chefnau,
Obf. 360.
* See Chomel. PL Ufuell. Tom. 3. 34. Geaff. L c.
c Cited by Murr. I. c.
d The inventor of this ointment, for the piles, was a Dr. Wolph, who at that time
was phyfician to the Landgrave of Heffe, by whom the doctor was continually interro-
gated to difcover the compofition of this ointment; but Wolph obftinately refufed, till
the prince promifed to give him a fat ox annually for the difcovcry. Hence to the fol-
lowing verfe, which was made to diftinguifh the Linaria from the £fula, viz.
" Efula la&efcit, fine la&e Linaria crefcit,"
The Hereditary Marfhal of Hefle, added :
" Efula nil nobis, fed dat Linaria taurum/' Horji. L c. a Murr. cit.
Linnaeus (Flor. Suec.) fays this plant is ufed as a poifon for flies.
No. 3.— Part II, G VITEX
( *6 )
VITEX AGNUS CASTUS. CHASTE-TREE.
$ TNO NT MA. Agnus callus. Pbarm. Geoff. Hi. 44. Dale. 297.
Aljlon. it. 321. Bergius. 550. Murray, it. 195. Lewis. 27.
£^3. Afew Difpenf. 119. Vitex foliis anguftioribus cannabis
modo difpofitis. Bauh. Pin. 47 5. Vitex five Agnus, caftus. Ger.
Eviac. 1387. Vitex folio angufto. Park. /beat. 1437. Agnus
folio non ferrato. Rait, Hijl. 1696.
Didynamia Angiofpermia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 790.
Gen. Ch. CaL 5-dentatus. Cor. limbus 6-fidus. Bacca 4-fperma.
Sp. Ch. V. foliis digitatis ferratis, fpicis verticillatis.
THIS fmall tree or fhrub divides into numerous branches; is
covered with a greyifh bark, and the young moots are clothed with
a downy fubftance. Leaves digitated, oppofite, on long footftalks,
feparating into five or feven portions, which are long, narrow,
elliptical, entire, pointed, on the upper fide fmooth, under fide
downy. FJowers purplifh, on fhort peduncles, in whorled fpikes.
Calyx fhort, tubular, downy: margin irregular, toothed. Corolla
monopetalous, ringent : tube fhort, cylindrical: limb divided into four
fegments, of which the undermoft is the largeft. Filaments four, two
long, and two fhort, of the length of the tube, capillary. Anthers
vefatile. Germen roundifh. Style filiform, about the length of the
tube. Stigmata two, tapering, fpreading. Capfule a roundiih berry,
divided into four parts, each containing a folitary ovate feed, of a
blackifh grey colour.
The
( *7 )
The Chafte-tree is a native of Sicily, affecting humid and fhady
places. It has long been introduced into the gardens of this coun-
try,* where it is found to brave the cold of winter in the open
ground.
Miller fays that he has feen it in full flower in October, when it
made a beautiful appearance ; but we have not been fortunate enough
to meet with it in that ftate, and therefore had the annexed figure
taken from a dried fpecimen in the Herbarium of Sir Jofeph Banks.
The feeds, which have long been medicinally ufed, and were
formerly received as an article of the Materia Medica, have a pungent
acrid tafte, and an unpleafant aromatic odour. Thefe, from the days
of Diofcorides, have been highly celebrated for poflefling a power of
fubduing the inclination natural between the fexes. Hence the name
Agnus caftus;a and from being therefore thought more efpecially
ufeful to thofe leading a monaftic life, thefe feeds have been called
Piper monachorum, or Monk's pepper. The feeds of the Chafte-tree
are, however, fo far from being thought antiaphrodifiac, that writers
of later times have afcribed to them an oppofite quality ; and their
aromatic pungency feems to favour this opinion, and alfo that of
Bergius, who ftates them to be carminative and emmenagogue. We
are aware that Lewis fays, " the feeds in fubftance, as met with
in the fhops, have little tafte, and fcarcely any fmell ;'* but Dr. J. E.
Smith, who examined them in their recent ftate, obferves, that " they
have an unpleafant aromatic fmell :" b it is therefore probable that on
being long kept they lofe much of their fenfible qualities, nor is this
to be regretted from any medical advantage they feem to promife in
our Ifland; and the plant has been figured here rather with a view to
illuftrate this natural order, by its variety, than to ferve the purpofes
of medicine.
* It was cultivated here in 1570. Lob el. Adverf. 423.
* Agnos, (i. e. caftus) nominatur, quod, in Thofmophoriis (i. e. facris Cereris^
matronae caftitatem cuftodientes, eo ad itrata uterentur : Lygos vero (quafi vimen)
propter virgarum ipfius firmitatcm. Diofcor, I. I, c. 135. Gal. Sim. vi. p. 40. and
cited by Aljlon. I. c.
fc Sketch of a tour on the Continent, v&h i.p, 223.
Having
X 28 )
Having, in the firft part of Medical Botany, publifhed a plate of
Gratiola and Beccabunga, we have now figured all the medicinal
plants clafled by Profeffor Murray in the order Perfonatae, except
Scrophularia nodofa and aquatica, Avicennia tomentofa, or Anacar-
dium orientale, and Acanthus mollis. The two firft are both natives
of this country, and known by the names of Great or knobby-rooted
Figwort, and Water Figwort. They have an ungrateful fmell, re-
fembling that of the Linaria, and like it alfo have been chiefly em-
ployed, with a view to their fedative and antiphlogiftic effects, as an
application to hemorrhoidal tumours. The fynonyma of the Avicen-
nia tomentofa Syft. Veg. are Bontia germinans Sp. pL Bontia foliis
fubtus tomentofis. J 'acq. Sel. Stirp. Amer. Anacardium orientale off.
The Malacca Bean.
Jacquin, however, contrary to the opinion of Linnseus, thinks
that this tree, which is a native of both Indies, does not produce the
Malacca bean, but that the parent of this fruit is ftill undefcribed. It
may alfo be added, that the medicinal qualities of Anacardium orien-
tale are not yet fufftciently afcertained.
Acanthus mollis, Smooth Acanthus, or Bear's-breech, or Branca
urfina, of the foreign pharmacopoeias, is a native of Italy and Sicily;
and, as containing a mucilaginous matter, has been recommended in
the character of an emollient and demulcent; but we do not find any
inftances of its efficacy recorded.
SOLANACEJEm
( 29 )
S 0 L A N A C EM,
seu LURID JE,
STRYCHNOS NUX VOiMICA. VOMIC NUT,
Or, POISON-NUT.
STNONTMJ. Nux vomica. Pharm. Bale. 327. Alfton. it. 37.
Lewis. 453. Bergius. 144. Murray, i. 477. Edinb. New Dif.
239. Nux vomica officinarum. Baub, Pin. 511. Ger. Emac.
1546. Park. Tbeat. 1601. Raii. Hift. 1 66 1. Ssf 1 8 14. Caniram.
Malab. T. i. t. 37. ^. 67. Barm. Ithef. ZeyL iyi.
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 253.
Gen. Ch. Cor. 5-fida. Bacca i-locularis, cortice lignofo.
Sj). Ch. S. foliis ovatis, caule inermi.
THIS large tree fends off numerous ftrong branches, covered
with dark grey fmooth bark. The young branches have fwelled
articulations, or a knotty jointed appearance, fcandent, and covered
with bark of a dark green colour. The leaves arife at the joints in
pairs, upon fhort footftalks, and are ovate, broad, pointed, entire,
with three or five ribs, and on the upper fide of a fhining green
colour. The flowers terminate the branches in a kind of fafciculated
umbel. Calyx fmall, tubular, five toothed. Corolla monopetalous :
tube cylindrical, or rather inflated at the middle, very long, and at
the limb cut into five fmall ovate fegments. Filaments five, fhort,
fixed at the mouth of the tube, and furnifhed with fimple anthera?.
Germen roundifh, fupporting a fimple ftyle, terminated by a blunt
ftigma. Fruit a round fmooth large pulpy berry, externally yellow,
and containing round depreffed feeds, covered with downy radiated
hairs. *
No. 3. —Part II. H It
( 30 )
It "is a native of the Eaft Indies, and, according to the Hortus
Kewenfis was introduced into England in 1778, by Dr. Patrick
Rufiell ; but it has not yet been cultivated with fuccefs in this coun-
try. The plate prefixed is taken from a very perfect fpecimen in the
poflemon of Sir Jofeph Banks, to whofe liberality every branch of
natural knowledge is much indebted, and this work for fome of its
moft valuable figures.
The nux vomica^ lignum coliibrinum, and faba fanEii Ignatii, have
been long known in the Materia Medica as narcotic poifons, brought
from the Eaft Indies, while the vegetables which produced them
were unknown, or at leaft not botanically afcerlained.
By the judicious difcrimination of Linnseus, the Nux vomica was
found to be the fruit of the tree defcribed and figured in the Hortus
Malabaricus under the name Caniram, now called Strychnos. To
this genus alfo, but upon evidence lefs conclufive, he likewife juftly
referred the colubrinum.a But the faba fandtl Ignatii he merely con-
jectured might belong to this family, as appears by the query an
Strychni /pedes f b which fubfequent difcoveries have enabled us to
decide in the negative; for in the Supp. plant, it conftitutes the new
genus Ignatia, which Loureiro has lately confirmed, changing the
fpecific name amara to that of philippinica.c The Strychnos and
Ignatia are however nearly allied, and both rank under the order
Solanaceae.
We have thought it neceflary to inquire thus far into the botanical
origin of thefe productions, from finding that by medical writers they
are generally treated of under the fame head, and in a very confufed
and indifcriminate manner.
The feed of the fruit or berry of this tree is the officinal nux
vomica : it is flat, round, about an inch broad, and near a quarter of
an inch thick, with a prominence in the middle on both fides, of a
grey colour, covered with a kind of woolly matter, and internally
hard and tough like horn ; to the tafte it is extremely bitter, but has
no remarkable fmell. It confifts chiefly of a gummy matter, which
is moderately bitter; the refmous part is very inconliderable m quan-
a Contendunt Indiae Botanici hanc a S. Nuce vomica non efle diverfam. Supp,
Plant. 140. b Vide Mat. Med. Lin, c Ftor. Cochin. 125.
tity,
( 3' J
tity, but intensely bitter ; hence rectified fpirit has been confidered
its beft menftruum.d
Nux vomica is reckoned amongft the moft powerful poifons of the
narcotic kind, efpecially to brute animals, nor are inftances wanting
of its deleterious effects upon the human fpecies. It proves fatal to
dogs in a very fhort time, as appears by various authorities/ Hillefeld
and others found that it alfo poifoned hares, foxes, wolves, cats, rab-
bits, and even fome birds, as crows and ducks ;f and Loureiro relates
that a horfe died in four hours after taking a dram of the feed in an
half-roafted {late. The effects of this baneful drug upon different ,
animals, and even upon thofe of the fame fpecies, appear to be rather
uncertain, and not always in proportion to the quantity of the poifon
given.5 With fome animals it produces its effects almoft inftan-
taneoufly ; with others not till after feveral hours, when laborious
refpiration, followed by torpor, tremblings, coma, and convulfions,
ufually precede the fatal fpafms, or tetanus, with which this drug
commonly extinguifhes life.
From four cafes related of its mortal effects upon human fubjects,*
we find the fymptoms correfponded nearly with thofe which we have
here mentioned of brutes ; and thefe, as well as the diffections of
dogs, killed by this poifon, not fhewing any injury done to the
ftomach, or inteftines, prove that the Nux vomica acts immediately
upon the nervous fyftem, and deltroys life by the virulence of its
narcotic influence.
The quantity of the feed neceffary to produce this effect upon a
ftrong dog, as appears by experiments, need not be more than a
:fcruple :h a rabbit was killed by five and> a cat by four grains : and of
the four perfons to whom we have alluded, and who unfortunately
perifhed by this deleterious drug, one was a girl ten years of age, to
' whom 1 5 grains were exhibited at twice for the cure of an ague. Lofs,,
d Junghanns diff. de Nuce vom. &c.
e Heyde. Obferv. 50. p. 116. Seutter. Diff. de Nuce vomica. Courten. Phil. Tranf.
' Wepfer. De Cicuta. 194. Brunner. ibd. Lofs. Diff. de Nuce vomica. Hillefeld. Diff..
. Experim. circa vencna. Gefner. Epijl. 33. — f Hillef. I. c. Lofs. I. c. Brunner. 1. c.
* It was given in a large quantity to a fwine without producing any effect. Lofs. he
.. * Vide Affltt/j/W. Diofcor. Lib. 4. Fred. Hoffman. Phil. corp. human, morbos. P.
*£. c. viii. §. 8. Seutter. I. c. Linn. &f Tillaus de feb. intermit, cur. p. 40. h Hillef.
however,,
( 32 )
however, tells us that he took one or two grains of It in fubftance
without difcovering any bad effect; and that a friend of his fwallowed
a whole feed without injury.
In Britain, where phyficians feem to obferve the rule faltem non
tiocere, more ftrictly than in many other countries, the Nux vomica
has been rarely if ever employed as a medicine. On the Continent,
however, and efpecially in Germany, they have certainly been guided
more by the axiom " what is incapable of doing much harm, is
equally unable to do much good." The truth of this remark was
lately very fully exemplified by the practice of Baron Stoerck ; and
is farther illuftrated by the medicinal character given of Nux vomica,
which, from the time of Geiher till that of a modern date, has been
recommended by a fucceffion of authors, as an antidote to the plague,4
as a febrifuge,14 as a vermifuge,1 and as a remedy in mania,"1 hypochon-
driafis," hyfteria,0 rheumatifm,' gout,q and canine madnefs/
In Sweden it has of late years been fuccefsfully ufed in dyfentery;*
but Bergius,' who tried its effects in this difeafe, fays, that it fup-
preffed the flux for twelve hours, which afterwards returned again.
A woman, who took a fcruple of this drug night and morning, two
fucceffive days, is faid to have been feized with convulfions and ver-
tigo, notwithstanding which the dyfenteric fymptoms returned, and the
diforder was cured by other medicines ; but a pain in the ftomach,
the effect of the Nux vomica, continued afterwards for a long time.
Bergius therefore thinks it mould only be adminiftered in the cha-
racter of a tonic and anodyne in fmall dofes, (from 5 to 10 grains)
and not till after proper laxatives have been employed.
Loureiro recommends it as a valuable internal medicine in fluor
albus, for which purpofe he roafts it till it becomes perfectly black
and friable, which renders its medicinal ule fafe without impairing
its efficacy.
1 Gefner. Epi/f. p. 144. k Wedel Amcen. Mat. Med. p. 337. Buchner. Ph. Brand.
61. Hartman. De Cicuta. tffc. p. 17. 1 Schuh. M. M. 404. m JIbinus, cited
by Aljion. I. c. * Buchner. I. c. 0 Ibid. * IViel. Dijf. de ufu Nuce vom. et vitr.
filb. p. it. i Ibib. « Schultz. I. c. * By Hagftrom, Odhelius, Dahlberg. 1 L. c.
PHYSALIS
224
( 33 )
PHYSALIS ALKEKENGI. COMMON WINTER CHERRY.
STNO NTMA. Alkekengi feu Halicacabum. Pharm. Geoff. Hi.
> 55. Dale. 172. Aljlon. ii. 15^. Rutty. 13. Cullen. ii. 553.
Bergius. 130. Murray, u 463. Lewis. 30. 2k/. Afcic; Difpenf.
120. Gerard. Emac. 342. 2?*y. 27j/?. 681. 2fo//. SV/V/.
». 597. Solanum veficarium. Bauh. Pin. 166. Park.Tbeat.^62.
Pentandria Monogynia, j£«iV. G^/z. P/. 250.
Gen. Ch. Cor. rotata. Stam, conniventia. Bacca intra calycem
inflatum, bilocularis.
Sp. Ch. P. foliis geminis integris acutis, caule herbaceo inferne
j fubramofo.
THE root is perennial, long, creeping, fibrous. Stalks annual,
round, crooked, fmooth, fimple, about a foot high. Leaves in pairs,
upon footftalks, of an irregular fhape, undulated, pointed, veined,
entire. Calyx perfiftent, becoming a large orbicular inflated pen-
tangular membrane inclofmg the fruit ; fegments five, pointed.
Corolla monopetalous, wheel-fhaped ; tube Very fhort ; limb five-
parted ; fegments five, broad, fhort, pointed. Filaments five, fmall,
tapering, approaching together : antherae erect : germen roundilh :
ftyle filiform, longer than the filaments, terminated by a blunt ftigma.
Fruit a red round two-celled berry, inclofed in the calyx, and con-
taining numerous flat kidney-fhaped feeds.
This plant, which is a native of the South of Europe., is not un-
frequently found in the gardens of this country, in which it has been
1 cultivated ever fince the days of Gerard, in 1597. & flowers from
. July till September, and ripens its fruit in October.
No. 3,— Part II. I The
( 34 )
The berries of the Alkekengi, commonly called Winter Cherries,
were well known to the ancients, and are chara&eriftically defcribed
by Piofcorides.*
They have an acidulous and not unpleafant tafte, followed by a
flight bitternefs, which they are faid to derive in a confiderable de-
gree from the inverting calyx, if not gathered with great care.*
Winter Cherries, though efteemed to be detergent and aperient,
have been chiefly recommended in the character of a diuretic in
fuppreffions of urine, and for removing obftructions occafioned by
gravel or mucous. With this intention, from fix to twelve cherries,
or an ounce of their exprelTed juice, have been the dofe ufually
employed : there feems, however, to be no danger from a much
larger quantity ; for in fome parts of Germany we are told that the
country people eat them by handfuls with much benefit : b and in
Spain and Switzerland 0 they frequently fupply the place of other
eatable fruits. Ray informs us, that a gouty perfon prevented the
returns of the diforder by taking eight of thefe cherries at each change
of the moon :d we find alfo inftances related of their good effects in
dropfical and calculous complaints,6 but at prefent they are wholly
difregarded.
• See Zr^u^voy ctXixoaaxfiov,
a Lewis. I. c. b C. Hoffman. De Medicam. of. L. 1. c. 217.
c §h>er. Flor. Efpann. Tom. it. p, 224. Hall. I. c.
d L. c.
e See Lofekey Arnold, de Villa Nova, & Lifler, as cited by Murr. 1. c.
ATROPA
( 35 )
ATROPA MANDRAGORA. MANDRAKE.
STNONTMJ. Mandragora. Pharm. Geoff, iii. 808. Bale. 170.
Aljlon. i. 478. Rutty.' 306. Bergius. 126. Murray, i. 441.
Afcie; D//J>. 225. Mandragora fru&u rotundo. Bauh. Pin.
169. Hift. 668. M. frudu majore. Hijl. Oxon. iii. 531.
Mandragoras mas. Ger. Emac. 352. jFW. Tbeat. 343. Conf.
Miller s Figures, t. 173.
Pentandria Monogynia. Zitf. Gen. Plant. 249.
Cor. campanulata. Stam. diftantia. Bacca globofa,
2-locuIaris.
Sp. Ch. A. acaulis, fcapis unifloris.
ROOT perennial, large, fufiform, three or four feet long, exter-
nally brown, internally whitim. Leaves radical, femle, ovate, entire,
.veined, pointed, waved, fmooth, at firft erect, but on attaining their
full fize retting upon the ground. There is no ftem. Flowers whitim,
each ftanding upon a hmple ftalk, or fcapus, which rifes from the
crown of the root. Calyx quinquifid ; fegments pointed, perfiftent.
Corolla bell-fhaped ; tube very ihort ; limb divided into five acute
fpreading fegments. Filaments five, tapering, hairy, inferted at the
bafe of the corolla, at the top diverging, and furnifhed with erect
yellow anthers. Germen round: ftyle filiform, of the length of the
filaments, and crowned with a round ftigma. Fruit a large round
two-celled berry, of an orange colour, containing many kidney-
lb aped feeds.
Its flowers appear in March and April.
This plant is a native of the fouthern parts of Europe : it is not a
ftranger to our Englim gardens, in which it was cultivated by Turner
in 1562. 1
* Hort. Kew.
The
( 3^ )
The fuperftltlous and abfurd ftories, formerly told of the Mandrake,
would not now for a moment impofe upon the moft credulous and
ignorant : the great refemblance of ibme of the roots to the human
form, the danger of taking them out of the ground, and their fur-
prifmg effects, were all the invention of charlatanical knavery and
impoiture.b
The roots of Mandrake vary both in form and colour, being either
divided or entire, and externally brown or black ; hence they have
been diltinguifhed into male and female: the internal fubftance is
white, and to the tafte fomewhat vifcid, bitter, and naufeous.
All the ancient writers on Mandrake reprefent this root to be an
anodyne and foporific, but in large dofes it is faid to excite maniacal
fury.c They employed it principally in continued watchings, and in
thoie more painful and obftinate affections which were found to
refift lefs powerful mcdicines.d
It was alfo ufed in melancholia, convulfions, rheumatic pains,
fcrophulous tumours, &c. and to anfwer thefe purpofes, either the
expreffed juice of the cortical part of the root, infpiffated, or a
vinous decoction, or infufion of the root, was directed.0
The leaves of Mandrake, boiled in milk, and ufed as a cataplafm,
. are, according to Boerhaave, likewife to be confidered as an ufeful
application to indurated tumours/
The root alfo, employed externally, from the later and lefs equi-
vocal experience of Hoffberg,2 was found extremely efficacious in'
difcuffing various glandular tumefactions. And in fome cafes of gout
this author tried its effects internally ; from which we find that in a
b Ferunt has przeftantiffimas radices ex urina fufpenfi hominis fub patibulo morientis
irrigatas tales efformari, & ideo adeo raras efle, eafdem non fine vitae periculo manil
effodi, quapropter eas primum circuit fodiendas efle, ita ut minimum ex radice terra fit
conditum, deinde ab ea religandurn canem, a quo poftea fugk-nte radix extrahitu; 5c
fequitur, fed non adeo longe, quandoquidem ftatim atque effofla eft, canis moritur :
nullum poftea accipientibus amplius metum efle, imo fumme proficuas efle, maleficia &
infortunia quaecunque avertendo, 5c felicitates quafcunque defiderabiles afFerendo. Geoff.
I. c. See alfo Matthiol. and others.
c Hippocr. de locis in bom. Ed. Foes. p. 240. Aretecus. Jcut. curat. L. i. cap. 6. Cel.
Aurel. L. i. c. 4. d Diofcord. M. M. I. 4. c. 76. e Dbf I. c.
• f Hort. Lugd.. Bat. Tom. 2. 512.
e Vet. Acad. Handl. 1 763. vol. i\.p. 229. Pallas alfo mentions it as of frequent ufc
for chronic difeafes in fome parts of RulEa. See Reife d. Ruff'. 1. Th. p. 49.
dofe
226
ft.t/yl-/ ft J>." HVrJ*,//* 4
( 37 )
dofe of three grains it mitigated the pains, which afterwards returned,
A fimilar effedl: was produced in other cafes by a proportionate quan-»
tity of the root in the form of a tincture.
Thefe experiments mew that the Mandrake acts as an opiate, which
confirms the opinion entertained of it by the ancients ; and hence it
may be concluded, that, if not adminiftered with great care, it may
prove a deleterious and mortal narcotic. This caution is the more
neceflary, as the berries of Mandrake are faid to have been eaten
without producing any bad erTe£t. h
h S-e Ray. I. c.
SOLANUM NIGRUM. GARDEN NIGHTSHADE.
$YNONYMA, Solanum. Tharm. Dale. 170. Rutty. 489,
Bergius. 140. Murray. v0 i. 42 7 . Lewis. 6o%. Solanum offici-
narum. Bauh. Pin. 166. Solanum vulgare. Park, Tbeat. 346,
Solanum hortenfe. Gerard. Emac. 339, Ray. Syn. 254. H'tft. 672, »
Solanum nigrum. Hall. Helv. n. 579. Hud/on. Flor. Ang. 78.
With. Bot. Arr. 236. Flor. Dan. 460. Curt. Flor, Lond, ii. 16,
Pentandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. PI. 251,
Iff. Gen. Cb, Cor. rotata. Anthem fubcoalitse, apice poro gemino,
dehifcentes. Bacca 2-locularis.
$p. Cb. S. caule inermi herbaceo, fol. ovatis dentato-angulatis, ra«r
cemis diftichis nutantibus4.
No. 4. — Part II,
K
ROOT
( 38 )
ROOT annual, branched, whitifh, hung with numerous fmall
fibres. Stalk above a foot in height, alternately branched, formed
into angles by a foliaceous membrane, fwelled at the bafe of each
branch, rough, and of a dingy purple colour. Leaves on footftalks,
alternate, irregularly ovate, finuated, or indentated, and clothed with
loft hairs. Flowers in a fpecies of umbel, upon a common lateral
flower {talk. Calyx divided into five fmall fhort permanent fegments.
Corolla feparated into five fegments, which are oval, pointed, fpread-
mg, and of a whitifh colour. Filaments five, fhort, downy, ter-
minated by yellow oblong contiguous anthera:. Germen roundifh,
fupporting a tapering downy ftyle, furnifhed with a round ftigma.
Fruit a round two-celled berry, changing^ from a green to a black
colour, and containing feveral kidney*- fh aped yellowifh feeds.
It is common about rubbifh, dunghills, and in neglected gardens,
producing its flowers during all the fu mirier months.
The fmell of this plant is faint and difagreeable ; to the tafle it
manifefts no peculiar flavour, being fimply herbaceous. It appears to
poffefs the deleterious qualities of the other Nightfhades in a very
considerable degree ; even the odour of the plant is faid to be fo
powerfully narcotic as to cauie fleep.a
The berries are equally poifonous with the leaves* Three children,
upon eating them, were fuddenly feized with cardialgia and delirium,
accompanied with fpafms, and remarkable diftortions of the limbs :b
and to poultry they proved fatal in a ihort time.c
The plant, or rather the leaves which were boiled and eaten by a
mother and four children, produced fwellings of the face and limbs,
followed by inflammation and gangrene ; but the hufband, who
likewife ate of this vegetable at the fame time, found no cOnfequent
diforder.d
Its deleterious effects appear Mill more certain from the experiments
a Heccona Mufeo dl jis. p. 284. b Vide JVepfer De ciuit. p, 226*
' c Holler. I. c.
tucker* Commtrc* Noric* 1731* />• 272*
of
( M )
of Meflrs. Gatakcr and Bromfield ; the latter aflerts that in dofes of
One grain it had a mortal effect upon one of his patients.0
As this fpecies of Nightfhade is thought to he the ETfo%v0r of
Diofcorides/ its external ufe was reforted to in ancient times as a
tlifcutient and anodyne in various affections of the fkin, tumefactions
of the glands, ulcers, and diforders of the eyes ; nor does the utility
of this practice want the confirmation of latef experience.5
Of its internal ufe we find very little evidence in the writings of
the ancients* though, according to C£falpinus,h it appears nottohav^
been wholly neglected.
In the year 1757, Mr. Gataker, furgeon to the Weftminfter Hof-
pital^ called the attention of the faculty to this plant, by a publication1
recommending its internal ufe in old fores, fcrophulous, and cancerous
ulcers, cutaneous eruptions, and even In dropfies; all of which were
much relieved, or completely cured, by the Solanum. It appears from
his experiments, that one grain of the dried leaves of the plant, in-
fufed in an ounce of water, fometimes produced a confiderable effect ;
that in the dofe of two or three grains it feldorri failed to evacuate
the firft paffages, or to increafe very fenfibly either the difeharge by
the fkin, or that by the kidneys, and it not unfrequently occafioned
head-ach, giddinefs, dimnefs, and drowfinefs* Mr. Gataker's pamphlet
was foon followed by another, publimed on the fame fubject by Mr.
* It ought to be remarked, however, that Diofcorides and Theophraflus mention
it as an efculent plant; and Guerin (de vtgetat. venen. Alfaties. 1766. p. 66.) relates
that he drank an infufion of fifteen grains of the Solanum nigrum without luffering
'&ny confequent complaint ; and that an epileptic patient took from half a dram to two
drams of the exprefled juice of the plant without perceiving any narcotic fymptom to
follow ; nor with fome ioldiers, to whom a ftill larger dofe was given, together with
two drams of the juice of the berries, was any other effecT: produced than that of an
increafed quantity of urine. See Murray. I. c.
f Mat. Med. Lib. 4. c. 71.
I Wkh the Arabians it is a common application to burns and ulcers* Seo Forjkaf.
Defcript. plant, t. 1. p: 46. Ray alfo fpeaks highly of its effects in iudurations of the
breaft. See Hiji. I. c.
h De plant. 213.
1 Obfervations on the internal ufe of Solanum*
Bromfield,
( 4° )
Bromfield,k who declares that the cafes in which he tried the Solanura
were much aggravated by it, and therefore he contends that its ufe
is prejudicial and dangerous.
Which of thefe contradictory accounts may be moft worthy of
credit it is not for us to determine ; but if we judge from the difufe
pf the Solanum, the opinion of Mr. Bromfield feems to have been
tacitly confirmed. However, in the year 1764, Mr. Gataker again
renewed his aflertion of the efficacy of Nightfhade,1 which he does
riot attribute to any fpecific power, but to the evacuation it produces,
k See his Account of the Englijh Nightjhades.
1 EJfays on Medical Subjecls. See Introduction, and p. 38.
CONTORT jE.
ASCLEPIAS VINCETOXICUM. OFFICINAL SWALLOW*
WORT,
SYNONYM J. Vincetoxicum, Afclepias, Hirundinaria, Pharm.
Dale. 179. Aljlon. v. i. 536. Bergius. 172. Murray, i. 543,
Lewis. 661. Ed. New Difpenf. 301. Afclepias albo flore. Baub.
Pin. 303. Gerard. Emac. 898. Park. Theat. 387. Ray. HiJ.
1 09 1. Flor. Dan. 849. # Afclepias foliis ovatis acutis, caule
infirmo, umbellis fimplicibus. Mill. Di3. Hort. Kew.
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 306.
Qen. Ch. Contorta. Neclaria 5, ovata, concava, corniculum exferentia,
Sj>. Ch. A. foliis ovatis bafi barbatis, caule ere&o, umbellis proliferis,
ROOT
( 41 )
ROOT perennial, large, knobbed, from which iffue a number of
fmall, flender, yellowifh fibres. Stalks above a foot in height, erect,
round, fimple, fomewhat downy, jointed, at the bafe purplifh, above
green. Leaves on fhort footftalks, oppofite, ovate, long, pointed,
and bearded with fhort hairs at the bafe. Flowers white, arifing in
clutters at the axillse of the leaves. Calyx downy, divided into live
narrow pointed fegments. Corolla monopetalous, divided into five
ovate, obtufe, fpreading fegments, Nectaria five, flefhy, adhering to
the filaments; from the bottom horn-fhaped, and bent inwards. Fila-
ments five, of a tubular appearance. Antherse oblong, erect, within
the fcales of the nectary. Germina two, oblong, tapering. Styles
two, fhort, tapering. Stigmata fimple. Follicles two, large, oblong,
pointed, ventricofe, one-celled, one-valved. Seeds numerous, crowned
with pappus.
This plant, which is not uncommon in the northern parts of
Europe, has been cultivated in Britain fince the time of Parkinfon,
in 1640. Its root, which is the part medicinally employed, has,
r when fiefh, a moderately ftrong not agreeable fmell, approaching
to that of wild valerian, which, in drying, is in great part diffipated j
chewed, it impreffes firft a confiderable fweetnefs, which is foon fuc-
ceeded by an unpleafant fubacrid bitterifhnefs." a
Bergius ftates the virtues of this root to be pullens, diuretica, ftido-
rifica, emmenagoga, alexipharmica.
By F. Hoffman it was found to poffefs an anodyne quality ;b but
we are told by others that it fometimes excites naufea and vomiting/
It h^s been chiefly ufed in dropfical diforders ; and feveral cafes, are
related in which it was given with great fuccefs ;d but as other medi-
cines were at the fame time employed, the good effects of the Vin-
cetoxicum may not be yet thought fufficiently eftablifhed. The fame
obfervation will apply to Stahl's pulvis antihydropicus, a compofition
in which the Vincetoxicum is an ingredient.*
* Lewis. I. c. b Med. Syji. T. 4. P. 3. p. 305.
» Durr. Eph. Nat. Cur. Dec. 2. A. 7. p. 105- See alfo Geoff.
d Vide Bauh. hift. ii. p. 139. Durr. I. c.
* Stahl made alfo other compofitions of the Vintetoxicum, which were received in
the Pharm. Wurt. tff Brand.
No. 4.— Part II. h This
( 42 )
This root has alfo heen recommended in malignant fevers, and
even in the plague,0 efpecially by fome German authors; hence it ha&
been called Contrayerva Germanorum. Other diforders, in which it
is faid to be ufeful, are fmall-pox/ fcrophula, and uterine obftruc-
tions.
The dofe, in powder, is from a fcruple to a dram, or an infufiori
of three or four drams.
Vinca minor, (Vinca peruinea, or Periwinkle) Nerium antidyfen-
tericum, (Profluvii cortex, or Tili-cherry bark) if we except the
cinchona already noticed, are the only two remaining medicinal
plants belonging to the order Contortse. The former is a native of
Britain, and has been ufed in the character of an aftringent, efpecially
in hemorrhagic diforders. The latter is a native of the Eaft Indies.
Its bark, which polTefles an aromatic bitter aftringent, and, accord-
ing to Dr. Brocklefby, an anodyne quality, has been employed in
dyfenteries, diarrhoeas, and in intermittent fevers, oceuring in warm
climates.*
« Palmar, de feb. pejl. c. 18. Antzer. Antid. pejl. L. 2.
f Linn. Fl. Suec.p. 77.
* See Monro, fen. Med. EJfays. 3. p. 32. Brocklejby. Obferv. on camp, difeafes. />.
194. Lind. on difeafers in hot climates, p. 308.
PUT A M I N E JE.
CAPPARIS SPINOSA. COMMON CAPER-BUSH.*
STNONTMA. Capparis. Pbarm. Geoff. Hi. 250. Dale. 324. Aljiork
i. 370. Bergius* 449^ Murray ■< ii. 305. Edinb. New Difp. i6oi
kaxvwi. Diofcor. Capparis fpinofa frudu minori, folio rotunda.
Bauh. Pin. 480. Capparis rotundiore folio. Ger. Emac. 895.
Park. Theati 1023. Ray.- Hijl. 1629. Ic. Smith. Specileg. Bot. t. 20>
* The only medicinal plant of this order*
Polyandria-
228
( 43 )
Polyandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 643.
Gen. Ch. Cat. 4-phyllus, coriaceus. Petala 4. St am. longa; Bacca
corticofa, unilocularis, pedunculata.
Sp. Ch. C. pedunculis folitariis unifloris, ftipulis fpinofis, foliis
annuis, capfulis ovalibus.
ROOT woody, crooked. Stem trailing, much branched, round,
fmooth : branches alternate, fpreading, often downy, leafy, many
flowered. Leaves alternate, on fhort footftalks, fpreading, oval, or
roundifh, in the wild plant often terminated by a little fharp point,
which difappears by culture, entire, veiny, fucculent, bright green,
deciduous. Stipula? none : but in their ftead are two fpines at the
bafe of the footftalks, acute, fomewhat recurved, yellowifh, which
are nearly obliterated in the cultivated plant. Flowers numerous,
axillary, folitary, on footftalks, without bractese, large, handfome,
inodorous. Flower-ftalks round, longer than the leaves. Calyx of
four unequal concave leaves, tipped with purple. Petals much larger
than the calyx, fpreading, obovate, waved, white, with a faint tincture
df red. Stamina very numerous, the length of the petals, fpreading,
flender, in the upper part, pale purple like the anthers. Germen
oval, fmall, green, ftanding on a round purplilh. footftalk, which is
longer than the ftamina. Stigma fmall, blunt. Capfule oblong,
oval, coriaceous.
It is a native of the fouth of France, Italy, and the Levant.
Dr. Smith, of whofe figure and defcription of the Caper-bufh we
have here availed Ourfelves, fays, " it is furprifing that this beautiful
fhrub, which is as common in the fouth of France as the bramble
With us, and which grows luxuriantly in the open air, when trainc \
againft a wall, even at Paris, mould be almoft unknown in the Kng-
lifh gardens, where it can fcarcely be made to flower, except in a
ftove, with all poflible care." a
• Specil. Bot. t< 2O4
The
( 44 )
The buds, or unexpanded flowers of this plant, are in common ufe
as a pickle ; and for this purpofe the fmaller or younger buds are
mod efteemed.
This grateful pickle has the character of an antifcorbutic, and of
removing hepatic ana* other vifceral obftru&ions ; but the part of the
plant which has been chiefly recommended for medicinal purpofes, is
the bark of the root. This is of confiderable thicknefs, externally of
an afh colour, and tranfverfely wrinkled ; on drying it rolls up into
quills of about a third of an inch in diameter ; its tafte is fomewhat
aromatic, bitterim, and acrid.
By Diofcorides, and other ancient writers, it was thought of great
efficacy as a deobftruent, and was generally employed in obftru&ions
of the liver and fpleen, menftrual fuppreflions, and fciatica ; in this
view it has alfo been ufed by Foreftusb and Sennertus ;c and on the
prefumption of its deobftruent power, it is reckoned one of the five
lefs aperient roots : at prefent, however, its ufe is wholly laid afide.
b Oper. Lib. 20. Obf. 2. iff 3. c Pratt. Ub. 3. P. 4. c. 2. & 3.
HESPERID EM.
MELALEUCA LEUCADENDRON. CAJEPUT-TREE,
Or AROMATIC MELALEUCA,
Cajeput (oleum.) P 'harm. Murray. Hi. 319. Bergius.6$$. Ed. New
Difpenf. 153,
STNONTMA. Arbor alba (major) Caju Puti. Rumph. Herb
Jmb. vol. 2. p. 72. /. 16. Melaleuca Kajupoetie. Houttuyn Nl
tuurlyke. Hijlorie. P. 2. Sett. 3. 212. /. 15. Melal. Leuca-
dendra. De Lourdro Flor. Cochin, p. 468.
« M. latifolia, fol. falcatis lanceolatis acutis majoribus.
0 M. anguftifolia, fol. anguftioribus oblongis vix falcatis brevioribus
obtufis glaucis.
Polyadelphia Polyandria. Lin. Mant. 14.
Gen. Ch.
( 45 )
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-partitus, fupems. Cor. 5-petala. Filam. multa,
connata in 5 oorpora. Stylus i. Caps, femiveftita calyce
baccato, 3-valvis, 3-locularis.
Sp. Ch. M. polyadelphia, foliis alternis lanceolatis fubfalcatis quin-
quenerviis, fpica elongata.
THIS tree rifes with a long flexible trunk, fending off irregular
afcending branches, covered with a pale thick lamellated tough
bark. Leaves linearly-lanceolate, entire, fmooth, denfe, five-nerved,
alh-coloured, odorous, alternate, on fhoit footftalks. Flowers white,
feffile, in long fubterminal fpikes. Bractese floral, minute, ovate,
pointed. Calyx tubular, five-parted, deciduous, of a brownifh red.
Corolla of five petals* roundifh, concave, much longer than the
calyx. Filaments about forty, united at the bafe in five or fix bundles,
long, capillary, unequal, inferted in the tube of the calyx, and fur-
nifhed with fmall ovate incumbent antherae. Germen below, roundifh.
Style filiform, fomewhat fwelled at the ftigma. Capfule roundifh,
three-celled, three-valved, opening at the apex, and half jnclofed by
the calyx. Seeds numerous, oblong, fmall, compreffed, angular.3
It is a native of India, where it commonly grows in the woods :
the annexed figure was drawn from a very perfect botanical fpecimen
of it in the herbarium of Sir Jofeph Banks. The narrow leaved
variety of this fpecies was introduced into the Royal Garden at Kew,
in 1775, from New Caledonia, by J. R. Forfter, L. L.D.b
The origin of Cajeput oil, or the vegetable from which it is ob-
tained, was long unknown, and continued a matter of conjecture.
As this effential oil is faid to be fomewhat fimilar in flavour and odour
to the cardamom, an opinion very generally prevailed, that it was
procured from a fpecies of it. It is now however clearly proved to
be derived from the Melaleuca Leucadendron, as obferved"by Linnaeus
in 1772/ and fincc confirmed by his fon in the fupp. plant.
That the leaves of this tree have an aromatic odour, refembling
that of cardamom feed, and afford, by diftillation, a fragrant effential
a This defcription is given on the authority of De Loureiro. 1. c.
b Hurt. Knv. • Dtf. obf. in M. M, p. 5
No. 4.— Part II. M oil,
( 46 )
oil, manifcfting this aromatic principle ftill more ftrongly, is afferted
by Valentynus and Rumphius; but as they called the oil by no pecu-
liar name, it was not recognized as the Cajeput oil until fome of
thefe leaves were fent to Amfterdam, where, upon being fubjected to
diftillation, an oil was obtained, agreeing, in every refpe&, with that
of the beft Cajeput.*1 This eflential oil appears to be lodged in the
minute glands or veficles of the leaves, analogoufly to that noticed
of the hypericum perforatum f
Cajeput oil, (called alfo Oleum Wittnebianum, from Wittneben,
who gave an account of the procefs for obtaining it,) though un-
known in Britain, is now admitted into the Materia Medica of all the
principal foreign pharmacopoeias.
It is imported into Europe from the Eaft Indies, and is diftilled
chiefly in the Ifland of Banda. Thunberg f fays that it has the ap-
pearance of an inflammable fpirit, of a green colour, and fo com-
pletely volatile that it evaporates entirely, leaving no refiduum ; its
odour is of the Camphoraceous kind, with a terebinthinate admixture:
when it is applied to the noftrils copioufly, its fmell is at firft ungrate-
ful, but in a fmall quantity, or at a diftance, its odour is very agree-
able. Goetz,2 on the contrary, fays that it is limpid, or rather
yellowifh, and that on being kept in a vial not clofely corked, it
diffufes at firft a pleafant odour, which gradually changes to one fome-
what like that of turpentine, and at length becomes flmilar to that of
favine. Its tafte, he fays, is aromatic, and approaching to that of the
Oil of rofemary. A fingle drop, applied to the temples, produces a
peculiar fenfation in the interior canthus of the eyes* and excites tears,r
which he confiders as the moft certain criterion of trie genuinenefs of 1
the oil. From its exorbitant price it is frequently adulterated, and
therefore is feldom found in perfect purity in Europe.
Cajeput oil appears to be a powerful medicine* and is much eftecmed
in Germany, as well as in India, in the cnara&er of a general remedy
d Vide Nieuvoe vaderlandfche Letter-Oeffningen. P. 3. w. 3. bladz. 104.
c The leaves of this melaleuca, according to De Loureiro, are an trfeful medicine; he
fays, they are " attenuant, ftrengthening, ftomachic, diuretic, emmenagogue, and of fer*
Vice in obltrudrons of the liver, dropfy, debility of the ftomach, and dyfpncea.
f In Vet, Acad, Hand!. 1782. p. 223; g Comm. Nor. 1731. p. 5.
*
( 47 )
in chronic and painful complaints ; it is ufed for the fame purpofes
for which we employ the officinal aethers, to which it feems to have
a cbnfiderable affinity; the CajepUt however is mOre potent and
pungent : taken into the ftomach, in the dofe of five or fix drops, it
heats and ftlmulates the whole fyftem, proving at the fame time a
very certain diaphoretic, by which probably the good effects it is
faid to have in dropfies and intermittent fevers, are to be explained.
For its efficacy in various fpafmodic and convulfive affections, it is
highly efteemed ; and numerous inftances of its fuccefsful employ-
ment are publimed by different authors.*1 It has been alfo ufed both
internally and externally with much advantage in' feveral other ob'fti-
nate diforders, as palfy, hypochondrical and hyfterical affections,
deafnefs, defective vifion, tooth-ach, gout, rheumatifm, menftrual
obstructions, herpetic eruptions, &c. of which Thunberg gives a
particular relation.1
The dofe is from two to fix and even twelve drops.
The berries and leaves of Myrtus communis, and the bark of
Myrtus caryophyllata, or cajjia caryophyllata cortex, referable to
this order, have alfo been admitted into the Materia Medica ; the
former in the character of an aromatic and aftringent, and the latter
as a lubftitute for cloves.
h Thefe are refpectively cited by Murray, to whofe work we refer thofe readers who
wifh for a fuller account of this article.
1 L. c.
The odour of cajeput oil is remarkably destructive to ihfe&s : a few drops, in a cabi-
net or drawer, wherein animal or vegetable fpecimens of natural hiftory are kept in a
dried ftatej have on this account been found very ufeful,
CTMOSJE
( 48 )
C T M 0 S JE.
COFFEA ARABICA. COFFEE TREE,
ST NO NT MA, Euonymo fimilis aegyptiaca, frudu baccis lauri
fimili. Banh. Pin. 498. Coffee frutex, ex cujus fru&u fit potus.
Ray. Hijl. 1691. Bon. Alpin. PL JEgypt. 63. Jafminum arabi-
cum, lauri folio, cujus femen apud nos Coffe dicitur. Juffieu. Mem.
de VAcad. des Sc. de Paris. 171 3. p. 388. t. 7. Conf. Monogr.
in Linn, Amoen, Ac. T. 6. p. 160. Alfo Ellis. Hi/lor. Account of
Coffee. 1774,
Coffe A, (femen) Pharm, Bale. 317. Aljlon. ii. 274. Murray, i.
386, Bergius. m. Lewis. 243. Edinb. New Difpenf. 174,
Pentaridria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Pla?it. 230.
Gen. Ch, Cor. hypocrateriformis. Stamina fupra tubum. Bacca
infera difperma, Sem. arillata.
Sp. Cb. C. floribus quinquefidis difpermis.
A TREE of low ftature, feldom exceeding twelve feet in height,
(lender, at the upper part fending off long trailing branches : bark
brown, and almoft fmooth. Leaves nearly elliptical, fmooth, entire,
pointed, waved, three or four inches in length, oppofite, on fhort
footftalks. Stipulae in pairs, pointed. Flowers white, axillary, on
fhort fimple peduncles, or feffile, two or three together. Calyx very
fmall, tubular, five-toothed. Corolla monopetalous, funnel-fhaped,
cut at the limb into five reflexed oval or lanceolate fegments : tube
long, narrow, almoft cylindrical. Filaments five, tapering, inferted
at the mouth of the tube : anthers linear, incumbent, of the length
of
( 49 )
the filaments. Germen roundifh. Style fimple, longer than the
ftamina. Stigma cloven, reflexed. Fruit a round flefhy red berry,
containing two feeds, inverted by a cartilaginous arillus : the appear-
ance of the feed is well known.
The Coffee tree is a native of Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, and was
firft noticed by Rauwolfius in 1573 ; but Alpinus, in 15 91, was the
firft who defcribed it. It was cultivated in Britain by Biihop Compton
in 1696,* and is now to be found in many of the well ftored hot-
houfes of this country. For the fpecimen of it here figured we are
obliged to Dr. Lettfom, who poffeffes the beft plant of this fpecies
which we have feen, and which was highly valued by its late owner
Dr. John Fothergill.
The ufe of Coffee, or the feed of the fruit of this tree, appears tQ
have originated in Ethiopia, but the practice of drinking it in
Arabia was introduced from Perfia by the Mufti of Aden in the
fifteenth century. In 1554 its ufe firft began at Conftantinople.
From whence it was gradually adopted in the weftern parts of Europe,
At Marieilles it was begun in 1 644. At Paris, if we except the family
of Monf. Thevenot,b it was unknown till the arrival of the Turkifh
Ambaffador, Soliman Aga, in 1669; and in 1672 the firft coffee-
houfe was eftablifhed in Paris by an Armenian, named Pafcal, but he
met with little encouragement, and therefore came to London, where
this beverage had been previoufly introduced in the year 1652, when
Mr. Edwards, a Turkey merchant, brought from that country a
Greek fervant, of the name of Pafqua, who underftood the method
of preparing cofFee, and firft fold it in London in a houfe which he
kept for that purpofe, in George-yard, Lombard-ftreet. Eight years
after this it contributed to the public revenue, by a duty of four-
pence laid upon every gallon made and fold here.c
The general confumption of Coffee in Europe fuggefted the idea
of cultivating it for the advantage of commerce ; and \n this view
the Dutch took the lead', and firft planted it at Batavia in 1690; and
a Vide Douglas. Hijiory of the Coffee tree. p. 21.
* This gentleman had refided fome time in the Eaft, and returned to Paris in 1657,
c See Mis. I. c.
No. 4. — Part II. N „ at
( 5° )
at Surinam in 171 8. This example was followed by the French at
Cayenne, and in Martinico ; nor were our Colonies neglected, for
in 1732 it was cultivated in Jamaica, and patronized by ad of par-
liament.
But whether from mifmanagement, or from caufes unavoidable, it
is a lamentable truth, that our colonial coffee is of lefs estimation than
that of other ftates, and the Mocha coffee is fuperior to all others.
We fhall therefore prefent our readers with an account of the culture
and management of Coffee, practifed in Arabia Felix, and related by
La Roque, who fays, " that the Coffee tree is there raifed from feed,
" which they fow in nurferies, and plant them out as they have
*' occafion. They chufe for their plantations a moift mad y fituation,
'* on a fmall eminence, or at the foot of the mountains, and take
" great care to conduct from the mountains little rills of water, in
" fmall channels, to the roots of the trees ; for it is abfolutely
** neceffary that they mould be conftantly watered, in order to pro-
" duce and ripen the fruit. For that purpofe, when they remove or
" tranfplant the tree, they make a trench three feet wide, and five
" feet deep, which they line or cover with ftones, that the water may
" the more readily fink deep into the earth with which the trench is
" filled, in order to preferve the moifture from evaporating. When
" they obferve that there is a good deal of fruit upon the tree, and
" that it is nearly ripe, they turn off the water from the roots, to
" leflen that fucculency in the fruit which too much moifture would
" occafion. In places much expofed to the fouth they plant their
" Coffee trees in regular lines, fheltered by a kind of poplar tree,
" which extends its branches on every fide to a great diftance, afford-
" ing a neceffary fhade when the heat of the fun is too intenfe.
** When they perceive the fruit advanced to maturity, they fpread
*' cloths under the trees, which they fhake, and the ripe fruit readily
et drops off. They afterwards fpread the berries upon mats, and
" expofe them to the fun until they are perfectly dry: after which
" they break the hufk with large heavy rollers, made either with
" wood or ftone. When the Coffee is thus cleared of its hufk, it is
*' again dried in the fun, and laftly winnowed with a large ifan." d
* Sec La Roque. Voyage de V Arable heureufe. p. 285. of which we have followed
Ellis's tranflation.
Both
( Si )
Both the outer pulpyspart of the berry, and the inner membrane
immediately inverting the feed, are prepared for ufe by the Arabians;
the former is much efteemed, and conftitutes the Coffee a la Sultane;
the latter is chiefly employed by the common people, and fold under
the name of KifcherS The feeds ufed by us, and which by the Arabians
are thought too heating, are principally imported into Europe from
Yemen, where the Coffee is moft abundantly cultivated ; they are
fmaller than the other kinds produced in the Colonies, of a yellow
hue, and more grateful in tafte and odour. The manner of roafting
and preparing Coffee for ufe is too well known to require being de-
tailed here ; we mail therefore proceed to confider its effects on the
human body.
From various experiments inftituted by Dr. Percival upon Coffee,
he infers that this beverage " is flightly aftringent and antifeptic ;
" that it moderates alimentary fermentation, and is powerfully feda-
t( tive. Its action upon the nervous fyllem probably depends on the
" oil it contains ; which receives its flavour, and is rendered mildly
" empyreumatic by the procefs of roafting. The medicinal qualities
" of Coffee feem to be derived from the grateful fenfation which it
" produces in the ftomach, and from the fedative powers it exerts on
F* the vis vita?. Hence it affifts digeftion, and relieves the head-
" ach; and is taken in large quantities with peculiar propriety by the
" Turks and Arabians, becaufe it counteracts the narcotic effects of
" opium, to the ufe of which thofe nations are much addicted. In
" delicate habits it often occafions watchfulnefs, tremors, and many
*' of thofe complaints which are denominated nervous. It has been
" even fufpected of producing palfies ; and from my own obferva-
" tion, I Ihould apprehend not entirely without foundation. . Slare
r affirms that he became paralytic by the two liberal ufe of Coffee,
r and that his diforder was removed by abftinence from that liquor.'"
Dr. Percival cites a letter from Sir John Pringle, who afferts that
ftrong Coffee is the moft powerful remedy, with which he is acquainted,
in abating fpafmodic afthma.
e Braadj Niebuhr, Aublet^ &c.
f See. EjJhyS) -od. ii.
The
( p )
The late Dr. Fothergill has obferved, that " it is a queftion often
propofed to phyficians, which is beft Tea or Coffee?" The folution
of this point would perhaps be a difficult one. We neither find the
Chinefe or Turks fubjected to any fuch difcriminating effects as to
enable the faculty to fay, with precifion, that one is more injurious
than the other; for my own part I leave it to the experience of in-
dividuals. Dr. F. recommends the Coffee to be made ftrong, and as
much boiled milk to be added to it before it is taken from the fire as
there is water ; it is then fuffered to fettle, and drunk either with or
without cream. This the Dr. fubftituted for tea, which was not quite
favourable to his health.
The French cuftom of drinking Coffee immediately after dinner,
is certainly much better than that which prevails with us of taking it
at a late hour in the evening. For, from the obfervations of Dr.
Percival, and indeed from the experience of mankind in general, this
beverage very commonly fufpends the inclination to fleep, and there-
fore may protract the time of watchfulnefs beyond the ufual hour of
reft. By habit, however, thefe and other unfavourable effects both
of Coffee and tea, are often fubdued, though certain conftitutions
may fuffer much in the ftruggle, and a morbid irritability of the ner-
vous fyftem has not unfrequently been the confequence.
The complaints faid to have been produced by the frequent or
excqffive ufe of Coffee are head-achs, vertigo, tremors, imbecility,
pimples of the face, weakened vifion,5 and according to Profeffor
Murray, apoplexy. It has been faid that it produces or aggravates
hyfterical and hypochondriacal affections; and therefore Tiffot h cau-
tions literary and fedentary people againft its ufe. It is alfo accufed
of favouring an hemorrhagic difpofition, efpecially in feverifh, chole-
v ric, plethoric, and emaciated conftitutions.
How far thefe difbrders were i*eally caufed by the ufe of Coffee,
appears to admit of much doubt ; and therefore until its ill effects
arc experienced, this catalogue of diforders ought not to alarm thofe
s See Lin. Amoen Acad, vol 6. p. 176. F. Hoffman. Med. Syjl. T. 4. P. i. 209.
Plaz. Dijf. de potus cop abufu% &c. Zimmerman. Brfabr, P. 2. p. 347. Willis. Pbarmt
Ration, p. 203.
h Sante des gens de lettres. p. 200.
who
1
( S3 )
who perceive no ill effects from its ufe. As an article of diet it
is very generally drunk, and found, with very few exceptions, not
only to be innocent but falubrious : to a ftomach oppreffed with
animal food a cup or two of ftrong Coffee affords confiderable
relief, confequently it promotes digeftion j this effect, and that of its
obviating drowfinefs, are better afcertained than any other afcribed
to this article.
A great variety of fubftitutes for Coffee has been recommended,
which it would be unneceffary here to enumerate. The facl: is, that
in moft farinaceous matter, on being roafted or burnt to that degree to
which Coffee too frequently is, the peculiar fapid principle is totally
diflipated by the heat, and nothing but the more fixed part common
\%o all remains.
Two fpecies of Lonicera, viz. Periclymenum and Diervilla, or the
xommon, and the yellow-flowered upright Honey-fuckle, and the
ILinnaea borealis, or Two-flowered Linnaea, belonging to the order
(Cymofae, have been ranked as medicinal plants ; but they are not
moticed in the Britilh pifpenfatories, nor do they feem interefting
eenough to deferve particular attention.
No. 5.— Part II. O SUCCtfLENTJE.
t 54 )
§ U C C U L E N t M.
SEDUM ACRE. WALL STONE-CROP, or WALL PEPPER.
STNONTMA. Sedum acre feu minus. Phartn. Murray, v. Hi.
p. 344. Bergius. 375. Ed. New. Difpenf. 281. Sempervivum
minus vermiculatum acre. Bauh. Pin. 283. Vermicularis feu.
IUecebra minor acris. Ger. Emac. 517. Illecebra minor feu fedum
tertium Diofcoridis. Park. Tbeat. 735. Ray. Synop. 270. Sedum
acre. Hall. Stirp. Helv. tu 966. Hud/on. Flor. Arig. lju With.
Bot. Arr. 467. Ic. Curt. Flor. Lend.
Decandria Pentagynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 579.
Gen. Ch. Gal. 5-fidus. Cor. 5-petala. Squamae ne&arifera* 5, ad
bafin germinis. Caps. 5.
Sp. Ch. S. fol. fubovatis adnato-feffiiibus gibbis erectiufculis alternis,
cyma trifida.
ROOT perennial, flender, creeping. Stalks feveral together, about
three inches high, covered with leaves. Leaves oval, blunt, fhort,
fleihy, fmooth, numerous, without footftalks, clofely inverting the
ftalk, placed in an imbricated order. Flowers yellow, in fubterminal
trifid cymse. Calyx permanent, divided into five fegments, which
are tapering, thick, blunt. Corolla compofed of five pointed petals,
which are more than twice the fize of the fegments of the calyx.
Filaments ten, tapering, about the length of the corolla, and fur-'
nifhed with yellow antherce. Germen oblong, yellow, terminating
in five Myles, furnifhed with fimple ftigmata. Capfules five, pointed,
containing minute oval brownifh leeds.
This is a common BritiOi plant, growing on houfes, walls, and
gravelly banks. Like many other plants of this natural order it
k receives
( ss )
receives its nouriihment principally from the air, in proof of which
it continues to grow when detached from the ground, and fufpended
by the root.
It refembles the Sedum fexangulare very much, fo that fome
botanifts have confidered the latter, as only a variety of the former.
The difference however is flifficiently fpecific both in a botanical and
medical fenfe ;a "the latter being devoid of the pungent biting tafte
which characterizes the plant here figured.
This fpecies of Sedum, in its recent ftate, is extremely acrid, like
the Hydropiper ; hence, if taken in large dofes, it ads powerfully
on the primse vise, proving both emetic and cathartic ; applied to the
fkin, as a cataplafm, it frequently produces vefications and erofions.
Boerhaave therefore imagined that its internal employment rauft be
unfafe ; but experience has difcovered that a decoction of this plant
is not only fafe, but of great efficacy in fcorbutic complaints ; for
which purpofe a handful of the herb is directed by Below b to be
boiled in eight pints of beer till they are reduced to four, of which
three or four ounces are to be taken every, or every other, morning.
Milk has been found to anfwer this purpofe better than beer.c —
Not only ulcers fimply fcorbutic, but thole of a fcrophulous and
even cancerous tendency, have been cured by the ufe of this plant,
of which Marquet d relates feveral inftances. He likewife found it
ufeful as an external application in deftroying fungous rleih, and in
promoting a difcharge in gangrenes and carbuncles.
Another effect; for which this plant has been efteemed is that of
flopping intermittent fevers.
a Mr. Curtis has remarked, that " the leaves of S. Acre are fhort, broad at the
oafe, and at a confiderable diftance alunder, while thofe of the Sexangulare are nearly
of the fame thicknefs throughout, longer, more numerous, and placed in fix rows or
angles."
k A Swedifh Phyfician. V. M'ifc. Nat. Cur. Dec. i. Ann. 6. Obf. 22. p. 49.
c Lange. Raned. Brunf. Domeji. p. 121.
4 Mem. fur Uillecebra. fcfr.
SAXIFRAGA
( 56 )
SAXIFRAGA GRANULATA. WHITE SAXIFRAGE.
SYNONYM J. Saxifraga alba. P/jarm. Dale. 235. Lewis. 590.
Murray, tit. 355. Bergius. 367. Saxifraga roturtdifolia alba.
Bauh. Pin, 309. Saxifraga alba. Ger. Emac. "841. Saxifraga
alba vulgaris. Park. Theat. 424. Ray. Hift, 1048. Synop. 354.
Mailer. Stirp. Helv. n. 976. S. granulata. Hudfon. Flor. Angl.
1 5 9. Wither. Bot. Arr, 434. JSSj Flor. Dan. 514. Eif i^/or. Zo;^.
Decandria Digynia. Zi/7. Plant. 559.
£?<??/. £Vz/. 5-partitus. Cor, 5-petala. Caps. 2-roftris, i-Iocu-
laris polyfperma.
Sp. Ch. S. foliis caulinis reniformibus lobatis, caule ramofo, radios
granulata.
ROOT perennial, confifting of a number of fmall bulbs adhering
to the fibrous part. Stalk fomewhat branched, about a foot high,
round, hairy towards the bottom, and fcantily fupplied with leaves.
Leaves irregularly kidney-fhaped, a little hairy, flightly divided into
lobes, concave, thofe near the root furnifhed with long hairy footftalks.
Calyx divided into five fegments, which are hairy, oval, pointed,
vifcous. Corolla confifting of five white fpreading petals, which at
the upper extremity are brOad, at the bafe narrow, and of a yellow
colour. Filaments ten, tapering, fupporting yellow antheraj. Germen
roundifli, ftanding below the corolla, and furrounded by a green
glancj. Styles two, (horter than the filaments, furnifhed with hollow
ttigmata. Capfule fomewhat oval, two-celled, and furniflied with
two beaks or horns. Seeds numerous,, very fmall, black.
It is a native of England, but not very commonly met with: dry
meadows and paftures are the litnations it afTecls. Its flowers appear
in April and May.
Linnaeus
£32.
( 51 )
Linnaeus deferibes the tafte of this plant to be acrid and pungent,
which we have not been able to difcover : neither the tubercles of
the root, nor the leaves manifeft to the organs of tafte any quality
likely to be of medicinal ufe, and therefore though this fpecies of
Saxifrage has been long employed as a popular remedy in nephritic
and gravelly diforders, yet we do not find either from its fenfible
qualities, or from any publifhed inftanees of its efficacy, that it de-
ferves a place in the Materia Medica.
The fuperftitious doctrine of Signatures fuggefted the ufe of the
root, which is a good example of what Linnaeus has termed radix
granulata. The bulbs or tubercles of fuch roots anfwer an important
purpofe in vegetation, by fupplying the plants with nourifhment and
moifture, and thereby enabling them to refill the effects of that
drought to which the dry foils they inhabit peculiarly expofe them.
Sedum Telephium (Orpine) is alfo admitted of the Materia Medica
in the foreign pharmacopoeias ; Jit has not the acrid characters of the
fpecies here figured, but on the contrary is bland and mucilaginous.
It is faid to be diuretic, and, according to Dr. Withering, is ufed with
fuccefs to cure the piles. Sjmpervivum tectorum (common Houfe-
leek) which is nearly allied to the Telephium in botanical affinity,
likewife abounds with a mucilaginous juice, faid to be an ufeful appli-
cation to burns, creeping ulcers, and in apthous cafes. Cactus Opun-
tia (common Indian Fig) and Portulaca oleracea (Garden Purflane)
both of this natural order, afford a fimilar juice, which alfo has been
applied to medical purpofes.
No. 5. — Part IL
TRIHILATJE.
( 58 )
T R I H I L A ? J£.
TROPiEOLUM MA JUS. GREATER INDIAN CRESS,
Or NASTURTIUM.
STNON TMA. Nafturtium . indicum. Pharm. Dale. 1 34. Berg.
293. Murray, iv. 77. Gerard. Emac. 252. Park. Parad. 280.
Ray. Hijl. 487. Nafturtium indicum majus. Bauh. Pin. 306.
Viola indica fcandens, Nafturtii fapore & odore, flore flavo. Herm*
Hort. Lugd. Bat. 628. Ic. Curt. Bot. Maga%. 23.
OcTandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 466,
Gen. C/j. Cat. i-phyllusj calcaratus. Petala 5, insequalia. Bacca
3, ficcae.
Sp. Ch. T. foliis peltatis fubquinquelobisj petalis obtufis.
ROOT annual* Stalk trailing, climbing, round, branched, fmooth,
fucculent, feveral feet in length. Leaves roundifh, marked by feveral
radiated ribs, entire, obfcurely five-lobed, /landing fmgly upon long
bending footftalks, which are attached to the centre of each leaf.
Flowers large, folitary, of a, tawny yellow, on long peduncles.
Calyx yellowifti, large, forming a horn-like nectarium behind, divided
at the mouth into five irregular fegments, which are acute, erect,
ftriated. Corolla confifting of five petals, roundifh, of which the
two uppermoft are bent backwards, marked with black lines at the
bafe, and inferted into the fegments of the calyx : the three under-
moft have long claws or ungues, and are bearded at the bafe. Fila-
ments eight, yellow, tapering, fpreading. Antherse yellow, four-
celled, ovate. Germen triangular. Style fimpie, erect, yellow.
Stigma trifid, acute. Fruit three adhering berries, compact, exter-
233
tut/Hut it nrirs,.//*. .«,,./. / .
V 59 )
nally ftriated, containing three irregular {haped feeds. Its flowers
appear from June till October.
This plant is a native of Peru ; it was firft brought to France in
1684, and there called La grande Capucine ; two years afterwards it
was introduced into this country by Dr. Lumley Lloyd,* and fince
that time has been constantly cultivated in Britifh gardens.
In its recent ftate this plant, and more efpecially its flowers, have
a fmell and tafte refembling thofe of water crefs; and the leaves, on
being bfuifed in a mortar, emit a pungent odour, fomewhat like that
of horfe radifh. By diftillation with water they impregnate the fluid
in a considerable degree with the fmell and flavour of the plant."
Hence the antifcorbutic character of the Nafturtium feems to be well
founded, at leaft as far as we are able to judge from its fenfible quali-
ties : therefore in all thofe cafes where the warm antifcorbutic vege-
tables are recommended, this plant may be occasionally adopted as a
pleafant and effectual variety.
Patients, to whom the naufeous tafte of fcurvy-grafs is intolerable,
may find a grateful fubftitute in the Nafturtium.
The flowers are frequently ufed m fallads, and the capfules are by
many highly efteemed as a pickle.
The flowers, in the warm fummer months, about the time of
fun-fet, have been obferved to emit fparks like thofe of the electrical
kind.6
a Vide Hort. Kew.
b Cartheus. Di(f. de Cardam. p. 9.
e VeU Acad. Hand!. 1762. p. 284.
BERBERIS
( 6Q )
BERBERIS VULGARIS. COMMON BARBERRY.
STNONTMA. Berberis. Pharm. Dale. 318. Geoff, Hi. 172.
Aljlon, it. 255. Lewis. 144. Ed\nb. New Difp. 146. Bergius.
276. Murr. iv, 79. Park.lbeat. 561. Berberis dumetorum.
Baub. Pin. 454. Ray. Hift. 1605. 465. Gerard. Emac,
1325. Berberis vulgaris. Hudf. Flor. Ang. 137. Withering.
Bot. Arr. 366. /<:. Eng. Bot. 49.
Hexandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. PL 442,
Qh, Cal 6-phyllus. Petala 6 : ad ungues glandulis 2. Stylus, o.
Bacca 2-fperma.
Ch. B. pedunculis racemofis : fpinis triplicibus.
A LARGE fpreading fhrub, furnimed with fpines, covered with
3 light grey bark. Leaves inverfely ovate, blunt, entire, fmooth,
minutely ferrated, four or five {landing together upon fimple foot-
ftalks. Flowers yellow, in flender pendent racemi. Calyx compofed
of fix leafits, which are ovate, concave, coloured, deciduous, alter-
nately larger and fmaller. Corolla confifts of fix petals, which are
roundifh, concave, arid at the bafe each furnifhed with two fmall
oblong orange-coloured corpufcles or nectaries. Filaments fix, erect,
comprefled, tapering, fhorter than the petals, and terminated by
double anthersc, which adhere to their fides. Germen cylindrical, of
the length of the filaments. Style none. Stigma circular, flat, en-
compafTed by a fharp border. Fruit a cylindrical one-celled red berry,
containing two oblong feeds.
It is a native of England, growing in woods and hedges, and
flowering in June. In mrubberies, and in gardens where it is very
generally cultivated, its flowers ufually appear much fooner.
It
( 6i )
It has been difcovered, that the filaments of this fhrub poflefs a
remarkable degree of irritability; for on being touched near the bale
with the point of a pin, a fudden contraction is produced, which
may be repeated feveral times. This contraction of the ftamina
is evidently for the purpofe of throwing the pollen upon the
ftigma, and is effected by means of infects pairing over the bottom
of the filaments, which is the part in which their fenfibility relides.1
Another peculiarity afcribed to this fhrub is, that ears of corn
growing near it conftantly prove abortive, and that it extends this
iterile influence over them to the diftance of three or four hundred
yards acrofs ? field;b but Monf. Broulfonet, a celebrated French natu-
ralift, has refuted this very extraordinary though prevalent opinion.
The fruit or berries, which are gratefully acidc and moderately
reftringent, are faid to be of great ufe in bilious fluxes, and in all
cafes where heat, acrimony, and putridity of the humours prevail.
On the authority of Alpinusd we are informed, that the Egyptians
employ them in peftilential fevers and fluxes, with great fuccefs; and
Simon Paulli relates,0 that he was cured of a malignant fever, accom-
panied with a bilious diarrhoea, by ufmg thefe berries conformably to
the Egyptian practice, viz. macerating the fruit for a day and a night
in twelve times its quantity of water, with the addition of a little
fennel feed ; the liquor was then (trained, fweetened, and ufed as a
common drink.
■ See Mr. Whatley's remark from Dr. Sims, in Bot. Arr. p. 366. and Dr. Smith's
paper in the Phil. Tranf. for 1788. p. 158.
b Dr. Withering fays, « this fhrub fhould never be permitted to grow in corn lands,
for the ears of wheat that grow near it never fill, and its influence in this refpect has*
been known to extend as far as three or four hundred yards." /. c.
c Retzius fays that'it approaches very nearly to that of Tamarinds. Vet. Acad. Handl.
1776. p. 135. Scheele obtained from it a confiderable quantity of the acid of n>ar
Vet. Acad. Handl. 1785. p. 17. 0
d P. Alpinns. Med. /Egypt. L. 4. c. I.
e Vide Shtadrip, Bot. 118.
No. 5.-Part II. d That
( 62 )
That thefe berries are well ealculated to allay heat and third, and
to correct a putrid tendency in the fluids, will be readily admitted ;
but in this refpect they feem to poffefs no peculiar advantage over
moft of the other acid fruits : hence the Colleges of London and
Edinburgh have expunged this fruit from the Materia Medica, and
retained that of the currant. Barberries however are much more acid,
infomuch that they cannot be eaten without the addition of fugar,
but when boiled with this, they form a moft agreeable rob or jelly;
they are alfo much liked as a fweet-meat, and as a pickle. The bark
is laid to be purgative/ and Ray experienced its good effects in
jaundice.
f «
The roots, boiled in lye, dye wool yellow. In Poland they dye leather of a moft
beautiful yellow with the bark of the root. The inner bark of the ftems dyes linen of
a fine yellow with the afliftance of allum." With. I. c.
SWIETENIA MAHAGONI. MAHOGANY TREE.
(Swietenise Cortex. Pharm. Murray, App. Med. vi, 132.)
S TNO NTMA, Swietenia foliis abrupte pinnatis, pinnulis ovato-
lanceolatis obliquis, &c. Cavanill. Diff. Bot. 7. p. 365. /. 209.
Cedrela foliis pinnatis, floribus fparfis, -ligno graviori. Browne.
Jam.p, 1 58. Arbor foliis pinnatis, nullo imparl alam claudente,
nervo ad latus unum excurrente, Sec, Catejby, Carol, vol. 2.p.$i.
Conf. jacquin, SelecJ, Stirp. Amer. p. 127.
Decandria Monogynia. Lin, Gen, Plant. 521.
EJf. Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-fidus. Fetal* 5- cylindricum, ore
antheras gerens. Caps. 5-locularis, lignola, bafi dehiicens.
Sem. imbricata, alata.
S. Mahagoni. Sp. Pi. 548. VERY
( 6jr I
A VERY large tree, which, by fending off numerous fpreading
branches, makes a beautiful appearance. Wood hard, compact, of a
brownifh red, and from its general ufe well known in England.
The bark is rough, fcaly, and brown, but upon the young branches
grey, and much fmoother. Leaves pinnated, alternate, confifting of
three, four, or five pairs of pinnulse, which are entire, ovately
tance-fhaped, acute, oblique, reclining, on fhort footftalks. Flowers
numerous, fmall, whitifh, in axillary open fpikes. Calyx fmall,
bell-ihaped, deciduous, cut into five fegments. Petals five, inverfely
ovate, concave, obtufe, fpreading. Nectarium monophyllous, cylin-
drical, erect, of the length of the corolla, divided at the brim into ten
pointed teeth. Filaments ten, fcarcely vifible, inferted beneath the teeth
of the nectarium. Antherse oblong, erect. German ovate. Style taper-
ing, erect, of the length of the nectarium. Stigma large, deprefTed at
the top. Capfule ovate, large, obtufe, five-celled, five-valved ; valves
woody, thick, opening at the bale. Seeds numerous, comprefled,
imbricated, furnifhed with oblong membranous wings. Receptacle
of the feed large, oblong, obtufe, pentagonal.
It is a native of the Weft Indies, and was firft cultivated in Eng-
land in 1739 by Mr. P. Miller, who then confidered it as a fpecies of
Cedrus; but Jacquin difcovered the Mahogany to be a diftinct genus,
and called it Swietenia, in honour of Gerard L. B. a Swieten, whole
influence with the Houfe of Auftria caufed the botanic garden at
Vienna to be founded.
' For the botanical fpecimen of the tree figured in the annexed
plate, we are obliged to Sir Jofeph Banks.
The bark of the Swietenia has lately been found, in a con-
fiderable degree, to emulate that of the cinchona in its medicinal
characters ; we have therefore followed the late profeffor Murray in
cenfidering it as an article of the Materia Medica.
This bark, according to Dr. Wright, is " rough, fcaly, and brown,"
as found upon the trunk of a tree, but " that on the boughs and
twigs is grey and fmoother."1 That intended for medicinal ufe mould
be the growth of the trunk, or rather of the larger branches, and is '
brought here in flattifh or fomewhat convex pieces, about a foot in
1 See London Medical Journal, vol. 8. p.. 286.
length :
( % )
length : its epidermis is rough, and immediately under it a thick fpongy
dark extraneous coat is oblerved ; the inner efficient part of the bark
is of a lamellated texture, tough, and of a deep reddilh brown ;b its
tafte is aftringent and bitter, refembling the Peruvian bark, but, in
the opinion of Murray, more bitter.
On the teftimony of Wright, Lind, and feveral other refpectable
authorities, this bark has been found to anfwer the general purpoies
of that of the cinchona, and like it alio the different fpecies of the
tree agree in affording barks poflefling in common a certain Ilia re of
febrifuge power, though in different degrees, and fomewhat variable
in their fenfible qualities. Thus of the nine fpecies of cinchona,
lately defcribed by Vahl, the febrifuge character pervades the whole,
at leaft as far as experiments have been made : c and Mr. Roxburgh,
botanift to the Eaft India Company, has difcovered a new fpecies of
Swietenia, or Mahogany, the bark of which promifes, from his
account of it, to be a more efficacious medicine than that here
defcribed. This new fpecies of mahogany is called by Mr. Rox-
burgh Swietenia febrifuga ;d and from numerous experiments which
lie made"* from its bark, he draws the following conclufions : c
1. " The active parts of the bark of Swietenia febrifuga are
much more folubile than thofe of Peruvian bark, particularly in
watery menftruums."
2. " That it contains a much larger proportion of active (bitter
and aftringent) powers than Peruvian bark."
b This defcription nearly agrees with that of Murray ; but I have found the bark
to vary confiderably in its appearance, and in its tafte.
e Yellow Peruvian bark, the produce of a fpecies of cinchona, of which we find
no botanical account, has been lately brought to London. I have ufed it at the
Small-pox Hofpital with more advantage than I ever experienced from the beft common
bark. Its intenfe bitternefs is the leading character in its fapidity.
d This and feveral other Eaft India plants have been engraved at the expenfe of the
Eaft India Company, but have not yet been publifhed ; it differs from the common
Mahogany, in having its flowers in large terminal compound fpikes, and in its foliola
being oblong, and very obtufe.
e See " a botanical defcription of a new fpecies of Swietenia, (Mahogany) with
experiments and obfervations on the bark thereof, addrefled to the Honourable the
Court of Directors of the United Eaft India Company, by William Roxburgh."
3. « The
( 6; )
3« " The watery preparations of this bark remain good much
longer than fimilar preparations of Peruvian bark."
4. " The.fpirituous and watery preparations bear being mixed in
any proportion without .decompofition."
5. " That this bark in powder, and its preparations, are much
more antifeptic than Peruvian bark, or fimilar preparations of it."
He adds, " From the evident qualities of this new bark, and from
the fuccefsful experience I have had of it in intermittent fevers, &c.
I have every reafon to imagine it will prove equal, if not fuperior, to
the Peruvian bark for every purpofe where that medicine is ufed."
Having before given an account of iEfculus Hippocaftanum, or
Horfe-chefhut, the only remaining plant, referred to the Materia
Medica in the order Trihilatse is the Trapa natans, called in the
Pharmacopoeias Tribulus aquaticus, or Nux aquatica (floating water
caltrops). Its fruit or nut is of a quadrangular form, and contains a
farinaceous kernel, which was formerly in eftimation for its fuppofed
aftringent qualities.
SARMENTACEJE.
SMILAX CHINA. CHINESE SMILAX.
STNONTMA. China "(radish Pharm, Geoff, V. 2. p. 30. 'Bale.
167. Alfton. i. 409. Lewis, 226. Edinb. New Difpenf. 170.
Murray, u 339. Bergius 803. China vulgaris off. Ger. Emac.
1 61 8. Bauh. Pin. 296. Park. Tbcat. 1578. Ray. Hijl. 657.
Smilax minus fpinofa, fructu rubicundo, radice virtuofa China dicta.
Kcempf. Amain. 781. /. 782. Conf. Sam. Gottl. Gmelin's Reife
durch Rufsland. T. Hi. p. 32. /. 36.
Dioecia Hexandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1120.
t
No. 6.— Part IT. R Gen. Ch.
( 66 )
Gen. Cb. Ma s c. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. o.
Fem. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. o. Styli 3. Bacca 3-I0-
cularis, Sem. 2.
$p. Cb. S. caule aculeato teretiufculo, fol. inermibus ovato-cordatis
quinquenerviis.
ROOT perennial, ligneous, befet with irregular knobs; externally
of a reddifh brown colour, internally paler. Stems long, roundilh,
flender, jointed, woody, prickly, climbing, branched, furnifhed with
clafpers. Leaves fmooth, ovate, or heart-fhaped, pointed, five-nerved,
placed on footftalks. Flowers male and female on different plants,
in clufters, of a yellowifh white, upon a (lender common footftalk,
arifmg at the axil las of the leaves. The calyx of the male flower is
divided into fix leafits, which are oblong, reflexed, and appear to
occupy the place of the corolla, which is wanting. Filaments fix,
fimple, furnimed with oblong antheras. The female flower differs from
the male, in having no ftamina, but is fupplied with an ovate germen,
fupporting three minute ftyles, terminated by oblong reflexed downy
ftigmata. Fruit a fmall round berry, of three cells ; when ripe of a
red colour, and contains two round feeds.
This fpecies of Smilax is tolerably well defcribed by Kasmpfer and
Rumphius, but ftill more fully by Gmelin. It is a much taller fhrub
than the S. Sarfaparilla, and grows to the greateft perfection in China,
Japan, and in fome parts of Perfia. It is alfo a native of Jamaica,
but the occidental fpecies has been accounted lefs efficacious than the
oriental. Mr. Aiton informs us, that it was firfl cultivated in Britain
by Miller : it feems however to be a tender plant, and is rarely brought
to flower in this country, even when placed in the befl ftoves, and
under the direction of the moll fcientific gardeners.
According to Lewis, " two forts of the roots are common in the
fhops, an oriental, and occidental ; the firft, which is accounted the
beft, is confiderably paler coloured, and harder than the other. Of
either kind, fuch mould be chofen, as is frefh and heavy, and which,
when cut, exhibits a clofe fmooth glofly furface."
« Thefe:i
( 67 )
" Thefe roots have fcarcely any fmell, or particular tafte ; when
frefh they are faid to be fomewhat acrid, but as brought to us they
difcover, even when long chewed, no other than a flight unctuofity
in the mouth. Boiled in water they impart a reddifh colour, and a
kind of vapid foftnefs : the decoction, infpiffated, yields an unctuous
farinaceous almoft infipid^mafs, amounting to upwards of half the
weight of the root." a
About the year 1535 tn*s root was brought to Europe with:
the character of being an incomparable medicine for the cure of the
venereal difeafe.b For this purpofe it was given in the form of a
decoction, of which a large cupful was ordered to be made hot, and
taken by the patient every morning while in bed, in order to produce
a diaphoretic effect: for two or three hours.
This, and the occafional ufe of purgatives, was to be purfued for
twenty-four days, after which the decoction was to be ufed as a
common drink.0
This root was alfo recommended in many other diforders, efpecially
thofe of a chronic and inveterate kind, as fome cutaneous difeafes,
obstructions, rheumatifms, &c. But whatever may have been the
opinion formerly entertained of the efficacy of China root, phyficians,
at this time, agree in confidering it as a very inert fubftance, and there-
fore it is rarely employed. Like the farfaparilla, by which it has
been fuperfeded, it contains a considerable fhare of bland nutritive
matter, and appears to us not lefs adapted to the auxilliary purpofes
of medicine.
a Lewis. /. c.
b Thevet. Cofmogr. univers. L. \i. c. 25.
* Vefalius. Epifl. de rad. china in Aphor. p. 598. &c. Aftruc. de morb. ven, p. 112,
RUSCUS ACULEATUS
( 68 )
RUSCUS ACULEATUS. BUTCHER's BROOM,
Or KNEE HOLLY.
STNONTMJ. Rufcus. Pharm. Geoff. Dale. 169. Aljlon. i.
3 8 6. Lewis. 546. Murray, u p. 341. Bergius. 816. Edinb.
New Difpenf. 267. Bauh. Pin. 470. Ger. Emac. 907. Park.
Tbeat. 253. ifcfc Hijl. 664. 262. Hudfon. Flor. Aug.
437. Haller. Hift. Stirp. Hclv. n. 1238. J#/Y/&. iW. yfr?-. 1132.
Miller. Illujl. t. 155.
• * *
Dioecia Syngenefia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1139.
Gen. Ch. Ma sc. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. o. Neclariian centrale,
ovatum, apice perforatum.
Fem. Calyx, Corolla, et Neclarium maris. Stylus 1. Bacca
3-locularis. 2.
Ch. R. follis fupra floriferis nudis.
A SMALL evergreen fhrub, feldom much exceeding a foot in
height. Stalk ftrong, fmooth, channelled. Leaves floriferous, feflile,
or on very fhort footftalks, ovate, rigid, fharply pointed," entire, marked
with numerous parallel veins. Flowers male and female on different
plants, folitary, appearing on the upper difc of the leaves. Calyx of
the male flower compofed of fix fmall oval fpreading leaves, of a
yellowifh green. Corolla none. Ne£tarium egg-fhaped, inflated,
upright, purple, open at the rim, of the length of the calyx. Filaments
none. Anthera? three, expanding, uniting at the bafe, placed at the
mouth of the neclarium. In the female flower the germen is oblong,
a Hence Virgil fays, Horridior rufco." Ec. 7. V. 41.
And again
1 ■ afpera rufci
Vimina per iilvam, ■
enclofed
I 69 )
enclofed in the nectarium, fupporting a cylindrical ftyle, fupplied
with a blunt ftigma. Fruit a three-celled red berry, containing two
globular feeds.
It ufually grows in woods and thickets, flowering in March and
April.
The root, which is fomewhat thick, knotty, and furnifhed with
long fibres, externally brown, internally white, and of a bitterifli
tafte, has been recommended as an aperient and diuretic in dropfies,
urinary obftructions, and nephritic cafes. Hence it has been termed
one of the five greater aperient roots.
It is manifeftly the of Diofcorides,b who fpeaks highly
of its deobftruent and diuretic powers ; and Riverius relates a cale of
dropfy fuccefsfully treated by a decoction of the roots of Rufcus ; but
at prefent this plant is very rarely, if ever, employed in medicine.
b Lib. 4. c. 146.
ARISTOLOCHIA CLEMATITIS, CLIMBING BIRTHWORT.
STNO NT MA. Ariftolochia tenuis, Pharm. Edinb. Geoff, it. 1 3.
Dale. 194. Aljion, i. 391. Lewis, in. Murray, i. 356. Bergius.
719. Edinb. New Difp. 132. Ariftolochia Clematitis refta. Bauh.
Pin. 307. Gerard, Emac. 847. Park. 7 beat. 292. Rait Hi/l.
762. Hall. Stirp, flelv. n. 1029, Hudf. Flor. Ang. 394. Withering,
Bot.Arr.iQ03. Mill, lllujl,
Gynandria Hexandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1022.
(Gen. Ch. Hexagynia. Cal. o. Cor. i-petala, lingulata, Integra.
Caps. 6-locularis, infera.
ty. Ch. A. foliis cordatis, caule ereclo, floribus axillaribus confertis,
No. 6. — Part II. S ROOT
( 7& )
ROOT perennial, cylindrical, long, flender, creeping, fibrous*
Stalks fimple, flender, ftriated, two feet in height, round, fmooth,.in
a fomewhat zigzag direction. Leaves on footftalks, alternate, fmooth,
heart-fhaped, blunt, of a fhining bright green on the upper fide, be-
neath veined. Flowers numerous, at the axillse of the leaves, of a
greenifh yellow* Calyx none. Corolla monopetalous, tubular, tube
nearly cylindrical, at the bale round, at the mouth wider, and extended
downwards into a long tongue. Filaments none. Antherae fix, growing
underneath the ftigma. Germen oblong, angular, placed below the
corolla. Style very fhort. Stigma roundifh, divided into fix por-
tions. Capfule hexagonal, lix-celled. Seeds numerous, fmall, flattifh.
It is a native of this country, growing in woods and hedges, and
producing its flowers from July till September.
Various fpecies of Ariftolochia were formerly included in the Materia
Medica, as noticed in the firft part of this work ; but the Clematitis
here figured is the only fpecies ftill retained in the Edinburgh Phar-
macopoeia, and therefore ought to have fuperfeded the A. longa, of
which a plate is given at page 294.
The root, which is the part medicinally ufed, has a fbrriewhat
aromatic frnell, and a warm bitterifh tafte.
Not only writers on the Materia Medica, but moft authors on the
pra&ice of medicine, from the remoteft times, have afcribed many
virtues to the roots of Ariftolochia, which it would be ufelefs here to
enumerate. The qualities for which they have been chiefly efteemed
are fufHciently noticed in the following extract from Dr. Cullen : —
" Which of the fpecies of Ariftolochia are to be preferred I cannot
" determine, and believe the difference between the rotunda, longa,
" and tenuis, is not confiderable, though the latter feems now to be
" preferred by both the Colleges of London and Edinburgh. They
" are all of them confiderably bitter, with more acrimony than in
" any other of the bitters commonly employed. Its name feems to
" have arifen from the fuppofition of its emmenagogue virtues, and
" in fome cafes of retention and chlorous, as a warm and ftimulating
" medicine, I have found it ufeful ; but in cafes of fuppreffion I
« never found it of any ufe: and the commendation of it by the
" ancients in promoting the lochia, facilitating birth, &c. is very ill
" founded.
( 7' )
" founded. The Ariftolochia has been long commended as a cure
" for the gout. It makes a confiderable part of the Portland powder,*'
" and has often been employed by itfelf in the fame manner as that
" powder, to be taken every day for a length of time." 1
But Dr. Cullen thinks with Werlhoff,b that though it may prevent
the recurrence of the gouty paroxyms, yet the long continued ufe of
mch medicines is extremely hurtful, and commonly brings on a
general ftate of difeafe more fatal than the original diftemper.
* For the compofition of this powder, fee Med. Bot. vol. ii. p. 296.
a M. M. ii. 83.
b See Cautiones Mediae Ed. Wickman. p. 346.
AMYGDALUS PERSICA. COMMON PEACH TREE.
STNONTMA. Perfica. F 'harm. Dale. 301. Alflon. ii. 365. Geoff.
' Hi. 798. Lewis. 483. Edinb. New Difpenf. 249. Murrdy. iii. 24.1.
Bergius. 4 [ 3. Perfica Malus. Gerard. Emac. 1 447. Park. Parad.
580. Raii. Hift. 15 15. Du Ham el. A rb. fruit. T. ii. t. 30.
Icofandria Monogynia. Lin. Ge?i. Plant. 619.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-fidus, inferus. Pet. 5. D?iipa nuce poris perforata.
Sp. Ch. A. foliorum ferraturis omnibus acutis, fioribus feffilibus
folitariis.
THE common Peach-tree grows to a confiderable height, and
fends off numerous fpreading branches. Leaves long, narrow,
pointed, elliptical, acutely ferrated, on footftalks, alternate. Flowers
felfile, purplifh, folitary, large. Calyx tubular, divided at the margin
into five ovate fegments, and at the bafe befet with numerous fcales.
Petals five, inverfely ovate, fpreading, attached by fhort claws. Fila-
ments numerous, tapering, inferted into the calyx, furnifhed with
purplilh
( 72 J
purplifh antherae. Germen roundifh, downy. Style fhort, fimple,
terminated by a round ftigma. Fruit too well known to require
defcription.
The varieties of this fpecies are ^fruclibus lanuginofis, Common
Peach. 0, frualbus glabris^ Nectarine. y, fore pkno, the double-
flowered Peach-tree.
It is not known of what country this tree is a native, but it was
cultivated here in the time of Turner, 1562, and probably long be-
fore that period. From the name Perfica, it may be fuppofed to have
been brought from Perfia; but this is conjecture, nor is it afcertained
to be the ni?™* ^xex of Diofcorides, or n^t* of Theophraftus.
The fruit is known to be grateful and wholefome, feldom difagree-
ing with the ftomach, unlefs this organ is not in a healthy ftate, or
the fruit has been eaten to excefs, when effects fimilar to thofe of
the other dulco-acid fummer fruits may be produced.
The flowers, including the calyx, as well as the corolla, are the
parts of the Perfica ufed for medicinal purpofesj thefe have an agree-
able but weak fmell, and a bitterifh tafte. Boulduc a obferves, " that
when diftilled without addition by the heat of a water bath, they
yield one-fixth their weight, or more, of a whitifh liquor, which
communicates to a confiderable quantity of other liquids a flavour
like that of the kernels of fruits."
Thefe flowers have a cathartic effect, and efpecially to children
have been fuccefsfully given in the character of a vermifuge ; for this
purpofe an infufion of a dram of the flowers dried, or half an ounce
in their recent ftate, is the requifite dofe. The leaves of the Perfica
are alfo found to poffefs an anthelmintic power, and from a great
number of experiments appear to have been given with invariable
fuccefs both to children and adults.
However, as the leaves and flowers of the Perfica manifeft in fome
degree the quality of thofe of the laurocerafus, they ought to be ufed
with caution.
We find a " Syrupus florum perficorum," ordered in the Pharm.
Wurt,
• Mem. de L'Acad. 1714. p. 37.
h See Cojie et WilUmct. EJf. de Mat. Med. indlg. p. 32.
Menifpermum
( 73 )
Menifpermum Cocclus of Linnseus, which produces the Cocculus
Indus, formerly an officinal article, belongs alio to this natural order.
It is figured by Rumphius under the name of Tuba baccifera.
The fruit, which is brought here from the Eaft Indies, is faid to
be powerfully narcotic, and uied for the purpole of intoxication.
POMACE JE.
PRUNUS LAUROCERASUS. COMMON, or CHERRY
LAUREL.
i
STNONTMA. Laurocerafus. I *barm. Dale. 309. Lewis. 380.
Bergius. 399. Murray, Hi. 213. Cullen. ii. 282. Cerafus folio
laurino. Bauh. Bin. 410. Ger. Emac. 1603. Raii Hijl. 1549.
Duhamel. Traite des Arbres. t. 133.
Icofandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 620.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-fidus, inferus. Petala 5. Drupa nux futuris
prominulis.
Sp. Ch. P. floribus racemofis fol. fempervirentibus dorfo biglan-
dulofis.
A SHRUB or fmall tree, fending off long fpreading branches, and
covered with fmooth brown bark. Leaves evergreen, elliptical, or
obovate, blunt, rather ferrated, furnifhed with yellowifh glands at the
bafe, of a mining deep green, placed alternately upon ftrong fhort
footftalks. Flowers on fhort peduncles, in fpikes, which arife at the
alas of the leaves. Calyx tubular, ovate, divided at the brim into five
pointed reflexed fegments. Corolla compofed of five petals, which
are fmall, white, roundifh. Filaments about eighteen, tapering, in-
No. 6.— Part II. T ferted
( 74 )
ferted in the calyx, furnifhed with fimple anthers. Germen oblong,
fupporting a columnar ftyle, terminated by a blunt ftigma. Fruit
dru'pous, refembiing a fmall cherry both in its external and internal
ft ru Chi re.
It is a native of the Levant, and appears to have been long culti-
vated in Britain, and by its polifhed evergreen leaves adds much to
the beauty of our mrubberies.
The leaves of the Lauro Cerafus have a bitter ftyptic tafte, accom-
panied with a flavour refembiing that of bitter almonds, or other
kernels of the drupaceous fruits. The flowers of this plant alfo
manifeft a flmilar flavour. The powdered leaves, applied to the
noftrils, excite fheezing, though not fo ftrongly as tobacco.
The kernel-like flavour which thefe leaves impart being generally
efteemed grateful, has fometimes caufed them to be employed for culi-
nary purpofes, and efpecially in cuftards, puddings, blancmange, &c.
and as the proportion of this fapid matter of the leaf to the quantity
of the milk is commonly inconfiderable, bad effects have feldom
enfued. But as the poifonous quality of this laurel is now indu-
bitably proved, the public ought to be cautioned againft its inter-
nal ufe.
The following communication to the Royal Society, by Dr. Madden
of Dublin, contains the firft and principal proofs of the deleterious
effects of this vegetable upon mankind. " A very extraordinary
" accident that fell out here fome months ago, has difcovered to us a
" moft dangerous poifon, which was never before known to be fo,
" though it has been in frequent ufe among us. The thing I mean
" is a limple water, diftilled from the leaves of the Lauro-ccrafus. — •
" The water is at firft of a milky colour, but the oil which comes
" over the helm with it, being in a good meafure feparated from the
" phlegm, by paflfing it through a flannel-bag, it becomes as clear as
" common water. It has the fmell of bitter almond, or peach ker-
" nel, and has been for many years in frequent ufe among our houfe-
" wives and cooks, to give that agreeable flavour to their creams and
" puddings. It has alfo been much in ufe among our drinkers of
" drams ; and the proportion they generally ufe it in, has been one
part of laurel-water to four of brandy. Nor has this practice,
" (however frequent) ever been attended with any apparent ill oon-
" fequences,
( 75 )
« fequences, till fome time in the month of September, 1728, when
" it happened that one Martha Boyfe, a fervant, who lived with a
" perfon that fold great quantities of this water, got a bottle of it
" from her miftrefs, and gave it to her mother, Ann Boyfe, as a
" very rich cordial. Ann Boyfe made a prefent of it to Frances
" Eaton, her fifter, who was a fhopkeeper in town, and who me
" thought might oblige her cuftomers with it. Accordingly, in a
" few days, fhe gave about two ounces of the water to a woman
" called Mary Whaley, who drank about two-thirds of what was
" filled out, and went away. Frances Eaton drank the reft. In a
" quarter of an hour after Mary Whaley had drank the water, (as I
" am informed) me complained of a violent diforder in her ftomach,
" foon after loft her fpeech, and died in about an hour, without
" vomiting or purging, or any convulfion.
" The fhopkeeper, F. Eaton, fent word to her filler, Ann Boyfe,
" of what had happened, who came to her upon the menage, and
" affirmed that it was not poffible the cordial (as fhe called it) could
" have occafioned the death of the woman ; and to convince her of
" it, fhe filled out about three fpoonfuls, and drank it. She con-
" tinued talking with F. Eaton about two minutes longer, and was
" fo eafneft to perfuade her of the liquor's being inoffenfive, that fhe
" drank two fpoonfuls more, but was hardly well feated in her chair
" when fhe died without the leaft groan or convulfion. Frances
" Eaton, who, as before obferved, had drank fomewhat above a
" fpoonful, found no diforder in her ftomach or elfewhere ; but to
" prevent any ill confequence fhe took a vomit immediately, and
" has been well ever fince." a
Dr. Madden mentions another cafe of a gentleman at Kilkenny,
who " miftook a bottle of this laurel water for a bottle of ptifan ;
" what quantity he drank is uncertain, but he died in a few minutes,
" complaing of a violent diforder in his ftomach."
a See Phil. Tranf. vol. 37. p. 84. " A letter from T. Madden. M. D. giving an
account of two women being poifoned by the fimple diflilled zuatcr of Laurel-leaves, and of
feveral experiments upon dogs, by which it appears, that this laurel is one of the moji
dangerous poifons hitherto known."
In
( 76 )
In addition to this, we may refer to the unfortunate cafe of Sir
Theodofius Boughton, whofe death, in 1780, an Englifti jewry de-
clared to be occafioned by this poifon. In this cafe the active prin-
ciple of the Laurocerafus was concentrated by repeated diftillations,
and given to the quantity of an ounce ; the fuddenly fatal effects of
which muft be ftill in ihe recollection of the public.
To brute animals this poifon is almoft inftantaneoufly mortal, as
amply appears by the experiments of Madden, Mortimer,b Nicholls,c
Langrim,'1 Vater,c Fontana, and others.
The experiments, conducted by thefe gentlemen, mow, that the
laurel-water is deftructive to animal life, not only when taken into
the ftomach, but alfo on being injected into the inteftines, or applied
externally to different organs of the body. It is remarked by Abbe
Fontana, that this poifon, even " when applied in a very fmall quantity
to the eyes, or to the inner part of the mouth, without touching the
otffophagus, or being carried into the ftomach, is capable of killing
an animal in a few inftants ; whilft applied in a much greater quan-
tity to wounds, it has fo little activity, that the weakeft animals,
luch as pigeons, refift its action." f
The moft volatile is the moft active part of the Laurocerafus ; and
if we judge from its fenfible qualities, an analagous principle leems to
pervade many other vegetable fubftances, efpecially the kernels of
drupaceous fruits ; and in various fpecies of the amygdalus, this fapid
principle extends to the flowers and leaves.
It is of importance to notice, that this is much lefs powerful in
its action upon human fubjects than upon dogs, rabbits, pigeons, and
reptiles. To poifon man the eflential oil of the Laurocerafus muft
be feparated by diftillation, as in the fpirituous or common laurel-
water ; and unlefs this is ftrongly imbued with the oil, or given in a
large dofe, it proves innocent.
b Phil. Tranf. v. 37. p. 163.
c fcf d Vide Langrifla. Phil. Experiments upon brutes, to which is added^a courfe of
experiments with the Laurocerafus,
e Dijjl de Laurocerafi indole venenata. Alfo in his Progr, de olel animal, contra
hydrop.
f See Skinner's Tran/lation: ii. p. 180.
Dr. Cullen
( 77 )
Dr. Cullen obferves, that the fedative power of the Laurocerafus
acts upon the neryous fyftem in a different manner from opium and
other narcotic fubftances, whofe primary action is upon the animal
functions : for the Laurocerafus does not occafion fleep, nor does it
produce local inflammation, but feems to act directly upon the vital
powers. Abbe Fontana fuppofes that this poifon deftroys animal life,
by exerting its effects upon the blood ; but the experiments and
obfervations from which he draws this opinion are evidently incon-
clufive. It may alfo be remarked, that many of the Abbe's experi-
ments contradict each other.
Thus it appears, from the citation given above, that the poifon of
this vegetable, when applied to wounds, does not produce a fatal
effect ; but future experiments led the Abbe to affert, that the oil of the
Laurocerafus, " whether given internally, or applied to the wounds
of animals, is one of the raoft terrible and deadly poifons known."
Though this vegetable feems to have efcaped the notice of Stoerck,
yet it is not without advocates for its medicinal ufe. Linnseus informs
us, that in Switzerland it is commonly and fuccefsfully ufed in pul-
monary complaints. Langrifh mentions its efficacy in agues ; and
as Bergius found bitter almonds to have this effect, we may from
analogy conclude, that this power of the Laurocerafus is well eftablifh-
ed. Baylies found that it poffeffed a remarkable power of diluting
the blood, and from experience recommended it in all cafes of difeafe
fuppofed to proceed from too denfe a ftate of that fluid; adducing
particular inftances of its efficacy in rheumatifm, afthma, and in
fchirrous affections. Nor does this author feem to have been much
afraid of the deleterious quality of the Laurocerafus, as he directs a
pound of .its leaves to be macerated in a pint of water, of which he
gives from thirty to fixty drops three or four times a day.
Of the other fpecies of Prunus, or Cherry, we find nothing 'de-
ferving of particular attention.
The Sorbus aucuparia, or Mountain Am, belongs to this order.
Its berries, which appear in large beautiful clufters, are by fome
writers efteemed for their cathartic and antifcorbutic qualities.
No. 7.— Part II.
U
VERTIC ILLATJE.
( 78 }
V E R TICILLATJE.
BETONICA OFFICINALIS. WOOD BETONY.
STNON TMA. Betonica. Pbarm. Geoff, iik 183. Bale. 151.
AlJlon.it. 88. Lewis. 146. Ed'mb. New Difp. 146. Murray,
it. 158. Bergius. 524. Cullen. ii. 145. Betonica purpurea.
Bauh. Pin. 235. Gerard. Emac. 714. Raii. Synop. 238. Hall,
Stirp. Helv. 264. P^. Theat. 238. B. officinalis. Hitdjon.
Flor. Ang. 258. Withering. Bot. Arr. 611. if. 270/*. Zta#. 726..
Flor. Lond. 154.
Didynamia Gymnofpermia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 718.
Gen. Ch. Cal. arilratus. Corolla lab. fuper. adfcendens, planiufculum*
Tubus cylindricus.
Sp.. Ch. B. fpica interrupta, corollarum labii lacinia intermedia
emarginata.
ROOT perennial, tapering, woody, browniih, furnimed with
long white fibres. Stalks ufually more than a foot in height, erect,
fquare, fimple, channelled towards the top, nearer the bafe hairy.
Lower leaves on footftalks, cordate, or lance-fhaped, notched, obtufe,
veiny, fomewhat hairy, and wrinkled : upper leaves narrower, op*
podte, reflexed. Flowers purple, in fpikes compofed of feveral
whorls. Bradteae abundant, placed under the flowers, of the Iengtli
of the calyx. Calyx permanent, tubular, divided at the edge into
five narrow teeth. Corolla monopetalous ; tube longer than the
calyx, bending inwards, below fmooth and white, above purple,
downy : upper lip roundiih, entire, erecl: ; lower one divided inta
three fegments, of which the middle one is the broadeft. Filaments
( 79 )
four, longer than, the tube, two long and two fhort, furnifhed with
purple antherse. Germen divided into four parts. Style tapering,
white, longer than the filaments, and terminated by a bifid ftigma.
Seeds four, of an irregular lhape, and lodged in the calyx.
It is common in woods and heaths, flowering in Auguft and
September.
The defcription of the bstov/x* by Diofcorides applies equally to
many of the other verticillated plants : he alfo ftates it to be purga-
tive, fo that it feems very doubtful if by that name he meant the
plant here figured.
The leaves and tops of the Betony have an agreeable but weak
fmell : to the tafte they difcover a flight warmth, accompanied with
fome degree of aftringency and bitternefs. They yield very little
efTential oil, infomuch that only a few drops can be obtained from a
large quantity of the herb.
Betony, like many other plants formerly in great medical eftima-
tion, is at this time almoft entirely disregarded. Antonius Mufa,
phyfician to the Emperor Auguflus, filled a whole volume with
enumerating its virtues, ftating it as a remedy for no lefs than forty-
feven diforders ; and hence in Italy arofe this proverbial compliment
You have more virtues tha?i Betony?
Simon Paulli alfo afcribes to it powers, which may be confidered as
rather miraculous than natural, and which did not feem to require
contradi&ion from the experiments of Alfton .b
Modern writers do not allow the Betony to pofTefs any confiderable
efficacy : Scopoli indeed fays that he experienced its cephalic and
corroborant effects ; but its fenfible qualities fhow it to be more inert
than mod of the other verticillatae. Both this plant and Eyebright
enter into the compofition of Rowley's Britiih herb tobacco and
fnuff.
* The Italians alfo introduced the maxim Vendc la tonka et compra la Bstonka*.
b See Aljlon. I. c.
6 Flor, Cam, Ed, i, p. 460,
origanum;
( 8o )
ORIGANUM DICTAMNUS. DITTANY of CRETE.
STNONTMA. Di&amnus creticus. Pharm. Geoff, ii 272. Dale.
148. MJlon. ii. 129. Lewis. 274. Edinb. New Dijpenf. 183.
Murray, ii. 139. Bcrgius. 529. PW?. P///. 222. P^nS. Theat.
27. P<y. 537. Ger. Emac. 795.
Didynamia Gymnofpermia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 726.
£j<?/j. Cb. Strobilus tetragonus, fpicatus, calyces colligens.
Sp. Cb. O* foliis inferioribus tomentofis, fpicis nutantibus.
ROOT fibrous, perennial. Stalk about a foot in height, branched,
downy, ligneous. Leaves ovate, blunt, oppofite, on Ihort footftalks,
thick, covered with foft white hairs. Flowers purple, in fpikes.
Bracteae roundifh, fmooth, coloured, numerous, forming quadrangular
fpikes. Calyx fmall, five-toothed, concealed by the bracteae. Corolla
monopetalous, conhfting of a long tube, divided at the limb into two
lips, of which the upper is ftraight, and enclofes the filaments : the
under lip is cut into three obtufe lobes, of which the middle one is
the largeft. Filaments two long and two fhort, filiform, longer
than the corolla, and furnifhed with fimple antherse. Germen divided
into four parts. Style (lender. Stigma bifid. Seeds four, of an
irregular ovate fhape, and lodged at the bottom of the calyx.
It flowers from June till Auguft.
This plant, which is a native of the Ifland of Candia, appears
from Turner to have been cultivated in Britain previous to the year
1568, by Mr. Riche. The fpecimen here delineated grew in the
Royal garden at Kew.
The
( 8i )
The leaves of this plant are apparently very warm and aromatic ;
of an agreeable fmell, and hot biting tafte. They impart their
virtues both to water and rectified fpirit. Diftilled with water, they
give over a moderately ftrong impregnation to the aqueous fluid ;
from which, if the quantity of Dittany be large, there feparates, as
Neuman obferves, a fmall portion of a yellowifh eflential oil, of a
highly pungent aromatic tafte and fmell, and which congeals in the
cold into the appearance of camphor.*
Both the Greek and Roman writers have fabled this plant into
great celebrity ; of which a fingle inftance, related by the Latin Poet,
affords a beautiful illuftration^
Though rarely ufed at this day, it certainly pofTefies, in a very con-
fiderable degree,the ftimulant and aromatic qualities which characterize
this clafs of plants ; and has at leaft an equal mare of emmenagogue,
carminative, and ftomachic virtue.
a Lnvis. I. c.
b Hie Venus, indigno nati concufla dolore,
Dictamnum genitrix Cretaed carpit ab Ida,
Puberibus caulem foliis, et flore comantem
Purpureo : non ilia feris incognita capris
Gramina, cum tergo volucres haefere fagittae.
JEn. L. xii. 411,
No. 7. — Part IT.
X
TEUCRIUM
TEUCRJ \JM CHAMiEDRYS, COMMON GERMANDER,
STNONTMA Chamaedrys. Pbarm, Geoff. Hi. 296. Dale. 145.
Alflon. it. 105, Lewis. 219. Cullen. it. 8 ■. Ed. New. Difpenf,
169. Murray, it. 11 9. Bergius. 506. Chamaedrys minor repens.
2?<7#£. -P/Vz. 148. Or. £7»a£-. 656. ChamaEdrys vulgaris. Park,
^heat. 104. Ray. llijl. 527. Synop. 231. Hud/on, Flor. Angt
248. £0/. ^tt. 592, /c. iy7or. Dan. p. 448.
Didynamia Gymnofpermia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 706.
G^v/. Ch. Corolla labium fuperius (nullum) ultra bafin 2-partiturrr,
divaricatum ubi fiamina.
Sp. Ch. T. foliis cuneiformi-ovatis inqifis crenatis petiolatis, floribus
ternis, caulibus procumbentibus fubpilofis.
ROOT perennial, branched, fibrous. Stalk about a foot in height,
decumbent, roundifh, branched, rough. Leaves in pairs, on foot-
ftalks, ovate, narrow, irregularly toothed, veined, hairy. Flowers
purple, placed in whorls at the alee of the leaves. Calyx rough,
quinquifid. Segments pointed. Corolla confifts of a fhort curved tube,
at the limb divided into two lips, of which the upper is fhort, and
cut in the middle in fuch a manner as to difappear: the lower Hp
feparates into fpreading lobes, of which the middlemoft is large,
and of a roundifh form. Filaments two long and two fhort, flender,
white, and furnifhed with fi'mple antherse. Germen four, parted.
Style filiform. Stigma bifid. Seeds four, enclofed in the calyx.
It is a native of England, flowering in June and July. The annexed
figure is taken from a garden lpecimen.
The leaves and tops of Germander have a moderately bitter tafte,
accompanied with a weak aromatic flavour, which is diminilhed but
not totally diffipated when the plant is drfed. They give out their
.virtues both to watery and fpirjtuous menftrua. Water feems. to
diifolve the bitter matter more perfectly than pure fpirit, the watery
extract
243
( «3 )
extract being ftronger in tafte than the fpirituous;* though the quan-
tity of both extracts, according to Cartheufer's experiments, is very
nearly alike.
The Chamaedrys has been efteemed chiefly in the character of a
"mild aperient and corroborant : it is recommended in uterine obftruc-
tions,b intermitting fevers,c and in the rheumatifrn and gout. Of the
laft mentioned complaint, Charles the Vt^ is faid to have been cured
by a vinous decoction of this, with fomq other herbs, taken daily
for fixty fucceffive days.d
Other and lefs equivocal evidence of the good effects qf the
Chamaedrys, in this diforder, are recorded by different authors, who
appear to have employed it in various forms and combinations, of
which the celebrated antiarthritic, or Portland powder, is an
jnftance.
According to Murray the virtues of this plant mould be nearly
allied to thofe of the Marrubium, and therefore promifes to be
equally ufeful in afthmatic affections, coughs, and infarctions of the
lungs. However, while we admit this concluhon, we confider the
virtues of both as fomewhat problematical.
a Lewis. I. c. b See Ray. I. c.
e Alpinus. Med. JEgypt. p. 316. Riverius. Obferv. Cent. 4.-82. Chomel. Us. iU
I39« Seguier. PL Veron. T. i. p. 319. d Vejal. Rad. Chin. ill.
Many other medicinal plants of the order Verticillat^e ftill remain unnoticed;
but confidering the great number of this clafs figured iir our former volumes, it has
been thought that the medical reader will not regret the fuppreffion of the following:
Lin. Name.
Ajuga pyramidalis
Teucrium creticum
Chama?pitys
Montanum
Melittis Meliflbphyllum
Melifla Calamintha
Lavendula Stoechas
Satureja hortenfis
Nepeta Cataria
Origanum creticum
Salvia Sclarea
Leonurus Cardiaca
Prunella vulgaris
Lamium album
Officinal.
Confolida media
Polium creticum
Chama»p;tys
Polium montanum
Meliflbphyllum
Calamintha
Stoechas
Satureja.
Nepeta
Origanum creticum
Sclarea
Cardiaca
Prunella
Lamium album
English.
Mountain Bugle
Poley of Candia
Ground pine
Mountain poley
Ballard balm
Calamint
French Lavender
Summer Savory
Catmint
Marjoram of Candia
Clary
Mother- wort
Self heal
Dead-nettle
ERYSIMUM
t 84 )
8 I SM
ERYSIMUM OFFICINALE. HEDGE MUSTARD.
SYNONYM A. Eryfimam. Pharm. Geoff. «/. 444. Bale. 203.
Alflon.ii. 135. Lezvis. 28g. Cullen. ii. 166. Edinb. New Difp.
186. Murray, ii. 315. Bergius. 561. Hall. 47$. Eryfimum
vulgare. Bauh. Pin. \oo. Eryfimum Diofcoridis Lobelii. £<r.
£wrt<r. 254. Irio five Eryfimum Vulgare. Pari. yfoa/. 833.
Eruca filiqua cauli appreiTa, Eryfimum dida. Ray. Hift. 810.
Synop. 298. Eryfimum officinale. Hud/on. Ang. 286. Wither,
Bot. Arr. 695. 7c. jF/cr. D^». 560. Curt. Flor. Lond.
Tetradynamia Siliquofa. Lin. Gen. Plant. 814.
Gen. Cb. Siliqua columnaris, exacle tetraedra. Cal. claufus.
Sp. Cb. E. filiquis fpicas adpreflis, foliis runcinatis.
ROOT annua), tapering, furnimed with long fibres. Stalk from
one to two feet in height, erect, round, branched, hairy. Leaves
on footftalks, rough, downy, pinnatifid fegments, oppofite, ovate,
toothed, terminal one the largeft. Flowers yellow, fmall, placed in.
long racemi or fpikes. Calyx of four leafits, which are ovate, nar-
row, blunt, hairy. Corolla compofed of four petals, placed oppo-
fitely, inverfely ovate, ftanding upon long claws. Filaments fix,
tapering, two of which are fhorter than the others, and having at
the bafe two nectarious glands. Antherse heart-fhaped. Germen
cylindrical, ftriatcd. Stigma roundifh, comprellcd, notched. Pods
nearly conical, obfcurcly quadrangular, hairy, prefTed to the flalk.
Seeds of a dingy yellow colour, obliquely truncated at each end.
It
( 85 )
It is common on dry banks and wafte places, and flowers from
June till September.
The tafte of this herb is fomewhat acrid, efpecially the tops of the
flower fpikes. Its feeds are confiderably pungent, and appear to be
nearly of the fame quality with thofe of muftard, but weaker.
The Eryfimum is faid to be attenuant, expectorant, and diuretic,
and has been ftrongly recommended in chronical coughs and hoarfe-
nefs. Rondeletius informs us, that the laft mentioned complaint,
occafioned by loud fpeaking, was cured by this plant in three days.
Other teftimonies of its good effects in this diforder are recorded by
writers on the Materia Medica, of whom we may mention Dr. Cullen,
who, for this purpofe recommends the juice of the Eryfimum to be
mixed with an equal quantity of honey or fugar. In this way alfo
it is faid to be a ufeful remedy in ulcerations of the mouth and
throat.
In mofl cafes of difeafe, perhaps the feeds of Eryfimum, as more
pungent, mould be preferred to its leaves.
No. 7. — Part II
Y
ERYSIMUM.
( 86 )
ERYSIMUM ALLIARIA. SAUCE-ALONE, Or,
STINKING HEDGE-MUSTARD.
STNONTMA. Alliaria. Pharm. Geoff, iiu 58. Dale. 200.
Aljlon. ii. 79. Lewis. 31. Edinb. New Difpcuf. 120. Murray,
ii. 317. Burguts. 564. Bauh. Pin. 110. Gerard. Emac. 794.
JW'. fT&af. 112. Ray-. Hi/I. 792. iSjwo^. 293. Hall. Hijl.
Stirp. Helv. 480. -Erysimum AUiaria. Hudf. Ang. 286. With*
Bat. Arr. 696. Curt. Flor. Lond. 144.
Tetradynamia Siliquofa. Lin. Gen. Plant. 814.
Gen. Cb. Siliqua columnaris, exa&e tetraedra. Gal. claufus.
Sp. Ch. E. foliis cordatis.
ROOT biennial, whitifh, tapering, fibrous. Stalk erect, two or
three feet in height, round, fmooth, channelled, fparingly branched.
Leaves alternate, heart-jffraped, on footftalks, unequally toothed,
veiny: on the upper part of the ftalk they are pointed, and narrower;
at the root kidney-fhaped, and ftanding on long footftalks. Flowers
white, in terminal fpikes. Calyx of four leafits, which are ovate,
concave, of a pale green. Corolla confifts of four petals, which are
inverfely ovate, and placed in oppofite directions jrpon erecl: claws.
Filaments fix, tapering, four of which are long and erecl:, two fhort,
and bent inwards. Anfherse yellow, oblong, incumbent. Germen long,
quadrangular. Style very fhort. Stigma roundifh. Pod two inches long,
obfcuiely quadrangular, marked with a prominent line between each
angle ; the cavity divided into two cells, containing oblong Alining
brown feeds, which appear obliquely truncated at each end.
It is common on hedge banks, and flowers in May and June.
The leaves of this plant have a moderate acrimony, and a ftrong
flavour, refembling that of garlic or onfons ; they give the fame kind
of taint to the breath as thofe roots, and have been ufed for the fame
culinary
( 87 )
culinary purpofes : hence the name Alliaria. On drying, however,
their fenfible qualities are confiderably diminished, or entirely loft.
" The juice, expreffed from the frefh leaves, is ftrongly impreg-
nated with their active matter, but lofes the greateft part of it on
being infpimated to an extract with the gentleft warmth : in its
liquid ftate, duly fecured from the air, it may be kept uninjured for
many months. On diftilling the frefti herb with water, there arifes a
fmall portion of eflential oil, which taftes and fmells exceeding
ftrongly." a
The medicinal character of Alliaria is that of a powerful diaphore-
tic, diuretic, and antifcorbutic ; and as partaking of the qualities of
garlick it has been deemed ufeful as an expectorant and deobftruent,
in humoral afthmas, and other cafes of dyfpncea. It has alfo been
much efteemed as an external application, to promote iuppuration ;
and Boerhaave informs us, that he cured a gangrene of the leg,
arifing from a neglected fracture and contufion, by applying the
bruifed leaves of Alliaria with wine/
It has been thought unavailing to publilh figures of the remaining
medical plants of this order, not only becaufe they appear unim-
portant, but becaufe they are nearly allied to each other both in their
medicinal and botanical characters, and are fufficiently exemplified
here and in the former volumes of this work. — See Cochlearia, Sinapi,
Cardamine, Raphanus rufticanus, Nafturtium aquaticum.
* Lewis. I. c.
0 Hiji. Plant. Lugd. Bat. 437.
Lin. Name.
Sifymbrium Sophia
Eryfimum Barbaraea
Raphanus fativus
Braflica oleracea
Rapa
Napus
Eruca
Cheiranthus Cheiri
Lepidium fativum
Thlafpi arvenfe
* . Burfa paftoris
Thofe omitted are
Officinal.
Sophia chrurgorum
Barbara:a
Raphanus
Braflica
Rapa
Napus
Eruca
Cheiri
Nafturtium hortcnfe
Thlafpi
Burfa paftoris
Enclish,
Flix-vveed
Winter Hedge-muftard
Garden-Radifh
Cabbage
Turnep
Rape, or Wild -Cabbage
Garden-Rocket
Wall- Flower
Garden- Crcfs
Baftard-Crefs
Shepherd's-Purfe
MULTESILI^UJE.
( 88 )
I
MULTISILI^UJE.
RANUNCULUS ACRIS. UPRIGHT MEADOW
CROWFOOT.
S TNO NT MA. Ranunculus pratenfis. Pharm. Murray*. Hi. 75.
Ranunculus foliis hirfutis femitrilobis, lobis lateralibus bipartitis,
foliis caulinis femitrilobis. Hall. Stirp. Helv. n. 1169. Ranun-
culus pratenfis erectus acris. Bauh. Pin. 178. Ger. Emac. 951.
Park. neat. 329. Ray. Synop. 248. R. acris. Hudf. Flor. Ang.
211. Withering. Bot.Arr. 576. Scop. Flor. Carniol. 398. Ic.
Curt. Flor: Lond.
Polyandria Polygynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 699.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-phyllus. Petala 5 intra ungues poro mellifero.
Sem. nuda.
Sp. Ch. R. calycibus patulis, pedunculis teretibus, foliis tripartito-
multifidis, fummis linearibus.
ROOT perennial, confifting entirely of long white flender fibres.
Stalk erect, branched near the top, round, hairy, about two feet in
height. Leaves on long upright footftalks, trifid, fubdividing into
fmaller laciniated lobes, marked beneath with fmall prominent reticu-
lated veins : at the bafe of the peduncles, the leaves are fimple, linear,
and fringed with hairs. Flowers yellow, terminal, on long round
hairy peduncles. Calyx of five leaves, which are ovate, fpreading,
hairy, yellowifh. Corolla of five petals, yellow, mining, heart-fhaped,
commonly notched at the top. Filaments numerous, fhort, furnilhed
with yellow inclining anthers. Nectatarium, a fmall fcale at the
bafe of each petal. Germina numerous, forming an orbicular head.
Styles none. Stigmata reflexed. Seeds numerous, roundifh, of a
brown colour.
It
( 89 )
It is a native of meadows and moift paftures, flowering in June
and July.
The great acrimony of this, and many of the other, fpecies of
Ranunculus, is fuch, that on being applied to the fkin they excite
itching, rednefs, and inflammation, and even produce blifters, tumefac-
tion, and ulceration of the part. On being chewed they corrode
the tongue ; and, if taken into the ftomach, bring on all the delete-
rious effects of an acrid poifon.
Thecorrofive acrimony, which this family of plants pcftefies was not
unknown to the ancients, as appears from the writings of Diofcorides;
but its nature and extent had never been inveftigated by experiments
before thofe inftituted by C. Krapf a at Vienna, by which we learn
that the moft virulent of the Linnean fpecies of Ranunculus are the
bulbofus, fceleratus, acris, arvenfis, thora, and illyricus. The effects
of thefe were tried either upon himfelf, or upon dogs, and mow,
that the acrimony of the different fpecies is often confined to certain
parts of the plant, manifesting itfelf either in the roots, ftalks, leaves,
flowers, or buds : the exprelTed juice, extract, decoction, and infufon
of thefe plants were alfo fubjected to experiments.
In addition to thefe fpecies, mentioned by Krapf, we may alfo
notice the R. Fammula, and efpecially the R. Alpeftris, which,
according to Haller, is the moft acrid of this genus. However, as
the fpecies here delineated is a common Englifh plant, and poflefles
this active principle diffufed in a very confiderable degree throughout
the whole herb, it has been judged proper to felect it for this work
as a fufficient example and reprefentatiVe of the whole tribe.
Mr. Curtis obferves that even pulling up this plant, and carrying
it to fome little diltance, excited a confiderable inflammation in the
palm of the hand in which it was held.
It is neceffary to remark, that the acrimonious quality of thefe
plants is not of a fixed nature ; for it may be completely diffipated by
* Vide Expenmcnta de nonnullorum Ranunculvrum venenata qualitate^ horurn externa
ft interna nfu. 1766.
The R. fceleratus feems more corrofive than the R. acris ; and we are told by
Dr. Withering, that « beggars are laid to u(e it to ulcerate their feet, which they
expofe in that Hate to excite companion."
No. 8.— Part II. Z heat;
( 9° )
heat ; and the plant on being thoroughly dried, becomes perfectly
bland.
Krapf attempted to counteract this venomous acrimony of the
Ranunculus by means of various other vegetables, none of which
was found to anfwer the purpofe, though he thought that the juice
of forrel, and that of unripe currants, had fome effect in this way;
yet thefe wrere much lefs availing than water ; while vinegar, honey,
fugar, wine, fpirit, mineral acids, oil of tartar, p. d. and other fapid
fubftances manifeftly rendered the acrimony more corrofive. It may
be alio noticed, that the virulency of this plant, as well as of moft
others, depends much upon the fituation in which they grow, and
is greatly diminifhed in the cultivated plant.
This and fome other fpecies of Ranunculus have, for medical pur-
pofes, been chiefly employed externally as a veficatory, and are faid
to have the advantage of a common bliftering pi after, in producing a
quicker effect, and never caufing ftranguary. But, on the other hand,
it has been obferved, that the Ranunculus is lefs certain in its opera-
tion, and that it fometimes occafions ulcers, which prove very
troublefome and difficult to heal. Therefore their ufe feems to be
applicable only to certain fixed pains,b and fuch complaints as require
a long continued topical ftimulus, or difcharge from the part, in the
way of an iffue, which in various cafes has been found to be a
powerful remedy.
b Cafes of its fuccefs in chronic rheumatifm, and other complaints, are related by
Chefnau (obf. med). Bagliv. (oper. p. 113J. Stoerck (ann. med. ii. p. 125J.
The manner of ufmg the plant is to bruife it in a mortar, and to apply it to the
(kin as a poultice or plafter.
PiEONIA
( 9i )
P^ONIA OFFICINALIS. COMMON PEONY.
STNO NTMA. Paeonia. Pharm. Dale. 175. Alfton. t. 485.
Lewis. 470. Edinb. New Difp. 246, Murray, hi. 37. Bergius,
477. Paeonia folio nigricante fplendido, quae mas — et. Pasonia
foemina, &c. Bauh. Pin, 323. Ger. Emac. 980. Park. Theat.
1 38 1. Ray. Hi/f. 693. Paeonia foliis lobatis ex ovato-lanceolatis,
Hall. Helv. Miller. Diet. Ic. Mill, llluft.
Polyandria Digynia. Lin, Gen. Plant. 678.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-phyllus, Petala 5. Styli q. Caps, polyfpermae,
*•
Sp. Ch. P. foliolis oblongis.
ROOT perennial, large, knobby, externally brown, internally
white, compact. Stalks two feet in height, thick, fmooth, fucculent,
branched. Leaves pinnated, or cut into lobes, which are oblong,
few, terminated by an odd one. Flowers large, terminal, folitary,
red. Calyx compofed of five unequal ovate concave leaves. Corolla
naturally confifting of five large petals, which are roundifh and
concave. Filaments about thirty, fhort, (lender, iupporting oblong
quadrangular antherce. Germina two, ovate, erect, hairy. Styles
none. Stigmata hooked. Capfules two, hairy, oblong, inclining
outwardly, fingle-celled, fingle-valved, and containing numerous
fmall feeds.
Peony is a native of Switzerland : it has been cultivated in Britain
fince the time of Turner, and is now a common plant in the Engltfh
gardens, where it flowers in May and June.
This
( 9* )
This plant has long beetkconfidered as a powerful medicine; and,
till the late revifion of the Pharmacopoeia by the London College, it
had a place in the 'catalogue of the Materia Medica; in which the two
common varieties of this plant are indifcriminately directed for ufe,
and, on the authority of C. Bauhine, improperly diitinguiftied into
male and female Peony.
" The roots and feeds of Peony have, when frefh, a faint un-
pleafant fmell, fomewhat of the narcotic kind ; and a mucilaginous
fubacrid tafte, with a flight degree of bitternefs and aftringency. In
drying they lofe their fmell, and part of their tafte. Extracts made
from them by water are almoft irifipid, as well as inodorous ; but
extracts made by rectified fpirit are manifeftly bitterifti and con-
fiderably aftringent."
" The flowers have rather more fmell than any of the other parts
of the plant, and a rough fweetifh tafte, which they impart, together
with their colour, both to water and fpirit." a
The roots, flowers, and feeds of Peony have been efteemed in the
character of an anodyne and corroborant, but more efpecially the
roots ; which fince the,, days of Galen b have been very commonly
employed as a remedy for the epilepfy. For this purpofe it was ufual
to cut the root into thin flices, which were to be attached to a ftring,
and fufpended about the neck as an amulet ; if this failed of fuccefs,
the patient was to have recourfe to the internal ufe of this root, which
Willis0 directs to be given in the form of powder, and in the quantity
of a dram two or three times a day, by which, as we are informed,
both infants and adults were cured of this difeafe. Other authors
recommend the expreflfed juice to be given in wine, and fweetened
with fugar, as the moft effectual way of adminiftering this plant.
Many writers/ however, efpecially in modern times, from repeated
trials of the Peony in epileptic cafes, have found it of no ufe
whatever; though profeflbr Home, who gave the radix pseonise to
a Lewis. I. c.
»> De ftmp. lib. 6. p. 8oj.%Rnr.
e Pathol. Cerebri, cap. 2* d Boerhaave, Haller, Tiflot, and others.
two
( 93 )
two Epileptics at the Edinburgh Infirmary, declares that one received
a temporary advantage from its ufe.e
Of the good effects of this plant in other diforders we find rjQ
inftances recorded.
e See Clinical Experiments^ &c. p. 209.
The following are the remaining medicinal plants of this order
which we have not thought fufficiently important to require any
particular confideration ;
Systematic Names,
Aquilegia vulgaris
Aconitum Anthora
Delphinium Confolida
Nigella fativa
Ranunculus fceleratus
v - Flammula
bulbofus
Ficaria
Anemone nemorofa
— , Hepatica
Thalidtrum flavum,
Officinal.
Aquilegia
Anthora
Confolida regalis
Nigella
R. paluftris
Flammula
R. bulbofus
Chelidonium minus
Ranunculus albus
Hepatica nobilis
Thaliclrum
English.
Columbine
Wholefome Wolf's-bane
Branched Larkfpur
Fennel- flower
Marfh, Crowfoot
Spearwort Crowfoot
Bulbou Crowfoot
t'ilewort Crowfoot
Wood Anemone
Blue Hepatica
Meadow Rue
No. 8. —Part II.
COMPOSITE.
C 94 )
COMPOSITE.
CICHORIUM INTYBUS. WILD, or BLUE SUCCORY;
SYNONYM A. Cichoreum. Pharm. Geoff. Ill 319. Dale. 84;
Aljion. h Lewis. 227. Editib. New Difp. 171. Murray, u
100. Bergius. 650. Cichorium fylveftre, five officinarUm. 2to«£.
j%i 126. Gerard. Emac. 284. iW. 776.
255. C. Intybusi Hudfmu Flor. Aug. 348. Withering. Bot. Am .
862. Car/; .F/or. Lo/i^. 241.
Syngenefia Polygamia ^Equalis; LiiU Gen. Plant* 9211
Gen. Ch. Receptaculuin fubpaleaceunii Cal. calyculatus*
Pappus fub-5-dentatUs,, obfolete' pilofus.
Sp. Ch. C. floribus geminis feffilibus, foliis runcinatis.
ROOT perennial, long, tapering, branched, or fpindle-mapect ;
externally yellowiih, internally white, la&efcenh Stalk erect, rough,
branched, angular, from one to two or even three feet in height.
Leaves at the root numerous, pinnatifid, or cut into irregular feg-
mcnts like thofe of dandelion : on the fralk they are alternate, feffile,
fomewhat fpear-fhaped, but indented and rough at the bafe. Flowers
compound, large, blue, commonly in pairs. Calyx common to all
the florets, compofed of a double fet of leaves, of which the outer
are in number five, ovate, fpreading, and fringed with glandular
hairs ; the inner fet confifts of about eight. Corolla compofed of
hermaphrodite florets, which are regular, blue, and about twenty in
mimber, each conlifting of a (hort white tube, from which arifes a
long flat ribbed limb, divided at the extremity into five teeth. Fila-
ments
( 95 3
merits white, liendef, unconnected. Antherae blue, forming a kollow
angular cylinder^ Gennen conical, crowned with fliort hairs. Style
filiform. Stigmata two, rolled back, blue. Seeds numerous, naked,
angular, lodged at the bottom of the calyx.
It commonly grows about the borders of corn fields, and flowers .
in July and Anguft.
This plant belongs to the fame family with the garden endive, and.
by fome botanifts has been fuppofed to be the fame plant in its un-
cultivated ftate; but the endive commonly ufed as fallad is an annual,
or at moft a biennial plantj and its parent is now known- to be the
Cichorium Endivia*
It appears from Horace and others,1 that the Cichorea was com-
monly eaten by the Romans; and according to Pliny b this name
fignilied the wild .fpecies of the plant. The Intybus and Sens are:
alio mentioned as its congeners, the latter implying the cultivated .
fpecies-.
Wild Succory, or Cichory, as it has been called, " abounds. with-,
a milky juice, of a penetrating bitterifh tafte, and of no remarkable
finely or particular flavour: the roots are bitterer than the leaves or
ftalks, and thefe much more fo than the flowers.".
By culture in gardens, and blanching, it lofes its bitternefs, and
may be eaten early in the fpring in fallads. The roots, if gathered
before the ftems moot up, are alfo eatable, and when dried may be
made into bread. c
The roots and leaves of this plant are ftated by Lewis to be " very
ufeful aperients, acting mildly and without irritation, tending rather
to abate than to increafe heat, and which may therefore be given
with fafety in he&ic and inflammatory cafes. Taken freely, they
keep the belly open, or produce a gentle diarrhaea j and when thus
1 — ' Me pafeunt olivze
Me cichorea, levefque malvae. tiori Od. 31.
" Cichorea, & teneris frondens la£tucula fibris." "Juvenal.
• 6 L\k xx. c. 8. c Withering. I. c.
continued
( 96 )
continued for feme time, they have often proved falutary in begin-*
nlng obftrudtions of the vifcera, in jaundices, cachexies, hypochon-
driacal and other chronical diforders.' d
A decoction of this herb, with others of the like kind, in whey,
and rendered purgative by a fuitable addition of polychreft fait,
was found an ufeful remedy in cafes of biliary calculi,* and promifes
advantage in many complaints requiring what have been termed
attenuants and refolvents. The virtues of Succory, like thofe of
dandelion, refide in its milky juice ; and in moft of the plants of the
order SemiHofculofae, a juice of a fimilar nature is to be found :
therefore what has been before obferved of the effects of taraxacum,
will, in a great meafure, apply to the Cichorium ; and we are war-
ranted in faying, that the expreffed juice of both thefe plants, taken
in large dofes, frequently repeated, has been found an efficacious
remedy in phthifis, pulmonalis, as well as in the various other
affections above mentioned.
The feeds of the Cichorium, which are fmall, angular, and of a
brown colour, are reckoned among the four fmajler cooling feeds.
d Lewis. I. c.
? Van Swietcn. Comment, T. tit. p. 137.
MATRICARIA
( 97 )
MATRICARIA PARTHENIUM. COMMON FEVERFEW.
SYNONYMA. Matricaria. Pbarm. Geoff. Hi. 825. Dale. 97.
Aljion. iu 175. Lewis. 414. Ed. New. Difpenf. 227. Murray,
u 148. Bergius. 687. Cullen. ii. 364. Matricaria vulgaris five
fativa. Bauh. P%%. 133. Gerard. Emac.652. Park. The at. 83.
i^. 357. aS)tz6>/>. 187. Stirp. Helv. n. 100.
M. Parthenium. Hud/on. Flor. Ang. 371. Withering. Bot.Arr.
931. Ic. Flor* Dan, 192.
Syngenefia. Polygamia Superflua. Zz/z. Plant. 967.
Recept. nudum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemifphsericus,
imbricatus : marginalibus folidis, acutiufculis.
Sp. Ch. M. foliis compofitis planis : foliolis ovatis incifis, pedun-
culis ramofis.
ROOT perennial, compofed of numerous long fibres. Stalk erect,
firm, much branched, ftriated, round, fmooth, riling above two feet
in height. Leaves alternate, hairy, pinnated ; lobes irregular,
toothed, blunt ; terminal lobe bifid. Flowers large, compound, at
the centre yellow, at the radius white, upon long peduncles, forming
a kind of umbel. Calyx common to all the florets, hemifpherical,
and compofed of numerous ovate fquamse, which are membranous
at the border. Florets at the radius, female, oblong, about two lines
in breadth, terminated by three fmail teeth. Stigma bifid, turned in
oppofite directions. Florets of the difk numerous, tubular, hermaph-
rodite, five-toothed. Filaments five, capillary, very fhort. Antherse
forming a hollow cylinder. Seeds egg-lhaped, truncated at the bafe,
furrowed, whitifii, without pappus.
It is common about hedges, walls, and wafte grounds, flowering
in June ^id July.
No. Part II. 2 B " The
( 98 )
t
" The leaves and flowers of Feverfew have a ftrong not agreeable
fmell, and a moderately bitter tafte, both which they communicate,
by warm infufion, to water and rectified fpirit. The watery infufions,
inipiflated, leave an extract of confiderable bitternefs, and which
diicovers alfo a faline matter hoth to the tafte and in a more fenfible
manner by throwing up to the furface fmall cryftalline efflorefcences
in keeping : the peculiar flavour of the Matricaria exhales in the
evaporation, and impregnates the diftilled water, on which alfo a
quantity of eflential oil is found floating. The quantity of fpirituOus
extract, according to Cartheufer's experiments, is only about one-fixth
the weight of the dry leaves, whereas the watery extract amounts to
near one-half."
This plant is evidently the Parthenium of Diofcorides, fince whofe
time it has been very generally employed for medical purpofes. In
natural affinity it' ranks with camomile and tanfy, and its fenfible
qualities mow it to be nearly allied to them in its medicinal character.
Bergius ftates its virtues to be tonic, ftomachic, refolvent, and emme-
nagogue. It has been given fuccefsfully as a vermifuge, and for the
cure of intermittents ; but its ufe is raoft celebrated in female difor-
ders, efpecially in hyfteria ja and hence it is fuppofed to have derived
the name Matricaria."
Its fmell, tafte, and analyfis prove it to be a medicine of confider-
able activity ; we may therefore fay with Murray, " Rarius hodie
*' praefcribitur, quam debetur."
1 According to- Sim. Paulli, its efficacy in this diforder was very remarkable — .
£>iiadrip. p. 432.
b " UxpOsvwv, quafi virginalis, quod morbis mulierum uterinis medeatur, hinc vulga
matricaria." &q.i—C. B,
LACTUCA
( 99 )
LACTUCA VIROSA. STRONG -SCENTED WILD LETTUCE.
STNONTMA. Lactuca virofa. ~Pharm.Edlnb.nov. New Ed,
Difpenf. 217. Murray. App. Med. vol. 6. 13. La&uca fylveftris,
odore virofo. Baub. Pin. 123. Lactuca fylveftris major, odore
opii. Gerard. Emac. 309. La&uca Endivias foliis, odore virofo.
Park. 813. Ray. Hiji. 219. Synop. 161. Hailer. Hift. 15.
L. virofa. Hudfon, Flor. Ang. 337. Withering. Bot. Arr. 835.
1c. Collin, Obf. vi. prcef.
Syngenefia. Polygamia iEqualis. Lin. Gen. Plant. 909.
Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum. Cal. imbricatus, cylindricus, margine
membranaceo. Pappus fimplex, ftipitatus. Se?n. lsevia.
Sp. Ch, L. foliis horizontalibus carina aculeatis dentatis,
ROOT biennial, tapering, branched, firm, furnifhed with long
fibres. Stalk from two to four feet high, flender, erect, round,
prickly near the bafe, above fmooth, branched. Branches fpreading.
Leaves at the root oblong, wedge-fhaped, entire, or cut into winged
clefts, toothed, commonly prickly at the underfide of the midrib,
fefhle, horizontal : leaves on the ftem arrow- fh aped, embracing the
ftalk, either entire or cut into pinnated lobes: upper tmd floral leaves
arrow-fhaped, entire, pointed, embracing the branches at which they
are placed. Flowers compofed of numerous equal yellow florets.
Calyx oblong, confifting of feveral fmall fpear-fhaped unequal fcales.
Florets numerous, uniform, hermaphrodite, each compofed of narrow
petals, cut at the extremity into four or five minute teeth. Filaments
five, very fhort, hair-like. Antherse forming a cylindrical tube.
Germen egg-fhaped. Style filiform. Stigmata two, reflexed. Seeds
ovate, comprelfed, lodged upon the naked receptacle, and furnilhed
with a fimple hairy feather placed upon a footftalk.
It grows about ditch banks, borders of fields, and old walls,
flowering in July and Auguft.
This
( IOO )
This plant has a ftrong Ungrateful fmell, refembling that of opium,
And a bitterifh acrid tafte ; it aboiinds with a milky juice, in which
its fenfible qualities feem to refide, and which appears to have been
noticed by Diofcorides, who defcribes the odour and tafte of this
juice as nearly agreeing with that of the white poppy; its effects are
alfo faid, according to Haller, to be powerfully narcotic.
Dr. Collin, at Vienna, (whofe name has been frequently men-
tioned in the courfe of this work) firft brought the Lactuca virofa
into medical repute,* and its character has lately induced the College
of Phyficians at Edinburgh to infert it in the catalogue of the Materia
Medica. More than twenty-four cafes of dropfy are faid by Collin
to have been fuccefsfully treated, by employing an extract prepared
from the expreffed juice of this plant; which is ftated not only to be
powerfully diuretic, but by attenuating the vifcid humours to promote
all the fecretions, and to remove vifceral obftructions. In the more
fimple cafes, proceeding from debility, the extracl, in dofes of eigh-
teen to thirty grains a day, proved fufficient to accomplifh a cure $
but when the difeafe was inveterate, and accompanied with vifceral
obftrudtions, the quantity of extracl: was increafed to three drams :
nor did larger dofes, though they excited naufea, ever produce any
other bad effect ; and the patients continued fo ftrong under the ufe
of this remedy, that it was feldom neceffary to employ any tonic
medicines*
Though Dr. Collin began his experiments with the Lactuca at the
Pazman hofpital, at the time he was trying the arnica in 1771, yet
very few phyficians, even at Vienna, have fince adopted the ufe of
this plant.
Plenciz indeed has publilhed a folitary inftance b of its efficacy, while
Quarin c informs us that he never experienced any good effecl from
its ufe, alledging that thole, who were defirous of fupporting its cha-
racter, mixed with it a quantity of extraclum fcillse. Under thefe
circumftances we mall only fay, that the recommendation of this
medicine by Dr. Collin, will be fcarcely thought fufficient to eftablifh
its ufe in England.
a Obferv. circa Morb. P. vi.
b Jofcph de Plenciz. Acl. fcr Obf. Med, p. 107.
• Animadv Pracl. p. 188.
The
( ioi )
The remaining medicinal plants of the order Compofitas, whichi
have not been figured in this work, are
Systematic Names.
Carduus marianus*
Onopordon Acanthium
Carlina acaulis
Carthamus tin£r.orius
Centaurea Cyanus
Centaurea Calcitrapa
Cichorium Endivia
Scorzonera humilis
Tragopogon pratenfe
Lactuca fativa
Sonchus oleraceus
Hieracium Pilofella
Gnaphalium arenarium
Gnaphalium dioicum
Artemifia rupeftris
Tanacetum Balfamita
Eupatorium cannabinum
Santolina Chamae-CyparilTus
Spilanthus Acmella
Tuflilago Petafites
Xanthium ftrumarium
Matricaria Chamomilla
ChryfanthemumLeucanthemum
Anthemis Cotula
Bellis perennis
Inula dyfenterica
Doronicum Pardalianches
Achillea Ptarmica
Achillea Ageratum
Solidago Virgaurea
Senecio vulgaris
Erigeron acre
Calendula officinalis
Officinal.
Carduus Mariae
Carduus tomentofus
Carlina
Carthamus
Cyanus
Calcitrapa
Endivia
Scorzonera
Tragopogon
Lactuca
Sonchus
Pilofella
Stcechas citrina
Gnaphalium
Genipi album
Balfamita mas
Eupatorium
Santolina
Acmella
Petafites
Xanthium
Chamomilla noftras
Bellis major
Cotula f'cetida
Bellis minor
Conyza media
Doronicum
Ptarmica
Ageratum
Virga aurea
Senecio
Conyza ccerulea
Calendula
English-
Milk Thiftle
Cotton Thiftle
Dwarf Carlina
Baflard Saffron
Blue-bottle
Star Thiftle
Common Endive
Dwarf Viper's-grafs
Yellow Goat's-beard
Garden Lettuce
Common Sow-thiftle
Moufe-ear Hawkweed
German Cudweed
Cat's-foot Cudweed
Creeping Wormwood
Coft-mary
Hemp Agrimony
Lavender Cotton
Balm-leav'd Spilanthus
Butter-bur
Lefler Xanthium
Corn Feverfew
Ox-eye Daify
Stinking Camomile
Common Daify
Middle Elecampane
Great Leopard's-bane
Sneeze- wort Milfoil-
Sweet Milfoil
Golden-rod
Common Groundfel
Blue Erigeron
Common Marygold
No. 9. — Part II.
2 C
CARTOPHTLLEjE,
( 102 )
CARTOPHTLLEJE.
SAPONARIA OFFICINALIS. SOAPWORT.
STNO NTMA. Sapon aria. Pharrn. Dale. 230. Rutty. 463.
Lewis. 584. Edinb. New Difpenf. 277. Murray. Hi. 505. Bergius.
369. Hall. Hijl. Heh. n. 980. Saponaria major larvis. Bauh.
Pin. 206. Gerard. Emac. 444. Saponaria vulgaris. P^. 641.
P#y. Hijl. 999. Lychnis Saponaria di&a. Ray. Synop. 339. S.
officinalis. Hudf. Ang. 183. With. Bot. Arr. 438. Ic. Flor. Dan.
543. jF/or. Zow^/.
Decandria Digynia. Zi#. P/aw/. 564.
C^. Ciz/. i-phyllus nudus. Petala 5, unguiculata. Cj/x.
oblonga, i-locularis.
iS^. S. calyc. cyllndricis, fol. ovato-lanceolatis.
ROOT perennial, fpreading, widely branched, covered with a
reddifh cuticle. Stalks about a foot in height, erect, firm, round,
jointed, fending off oppofite branches. Leaves oval, entire, pointed,
connate, furnimed with three ribs. Flowers numerous, terminal, of
a pale fleih or white colour. Calyx cylindrical, rigid, oblong, divided
at the apex into five pointed teeth. Corolla compofed of five petals,
which are furnimed with long angular claws : the limb is inverfely
heart-fhaped, and at its bafe fupplied with two nectarious teeth,
placed in the centre. Filaments ten, tapering, longer than the calyx,
furnimed with oblong antherse. Germen oblong, befet with tranf-
verfe rugae. Styles two, tapering, white. Stigmata fimple. Capfule
one-celled, containing numerous black kidney-fhaped feeds.
It is a native of England, affecting moift fituations, and flowering
in July and Auguft. "
A double-flowered variety of this plant is not unfrequently met
with in gardens*
The
( 103 )
The root has no peculiar fmell; its tafte is fweetifh, glutinous, and
fomewhat bitter ; on being chewed for fome time, it is faid to difcover
a degree of acrimony, which continues to affect the mouth a con-
fiderable time. According to Neuman, two ounces of the root
yielded eleven drams of watery extract ; but Cartheufer, from a like
quantity, only obtained fix drams, and twenty-four grains. This
extract manifefted a fweetim tafte, followed by an acrid quality.
The fpirituous extract is lefs in quantity, but of a more penetrating
acrid tafte. Decoctions of the root, on being fufficiently agitated,
produce a faponaceous froth ; a fimilar foapy quality is obfervable
alfo in the extract, and ftill more manifeftly in the leaves, infomuch
that they have been ufed by the mendicant monks as a fubftitute for
foap in waftiing of their clothes ; and Bergius, who made feveral
experiments with the Saponaria, declares that it has all the effects of
foap itfelf.a
From thefe peculiar qualities b of the Saponaria there can be little
doubt of its poffeffing a considerable fhare of medical efficacy, which
we could wifh to find faithfully afcertained.
The difeafes for which the Saponaria is recommended, as fyphilis,
gout, rheumatifm, and jaundice, are not perhaps the complaints in
which its ufe is moft availing; for a fancied refemblance of the roots
of Saponaria with thofe of farfaparilla, feems to have led phyficians
to think them fimilar in their effects, and hence they have both been
adminiftered with the fame intentions, ' particularly in fixed pains,
and venereal affections. Bergius fays, ' in arthritide, cura mercu-
" riale, &c. nullum aptiorem potum novi."
However, according to feveral writers, the moft inveterate cafes
of fyphilis were cured by a decoction of this plant, without the ufe
of mercury. c
Haller informs us, that Boerhaave entertained an high opinion of
its efficacy in jaundice, and other vifceral obftructions.
■ He obferves alfo, that the Saponaceous quality is not injured by acids, like that
of the common foap.
b Perhaps we fhould except the kernels of the fruit of the Sapindus Saponaria, the
root of Gypfophila Struthium, and the flowers of the Lychnis chalcedonica.
c Vide Rudius. De morb. occult, et venenat. L. 5. c. 18. p. 215. Septalius, Anhnadv.
it caut. med. p. 275. Zapata, Memorab. medico-chir. Werner. Dijf. de virtute faponar.
CAMPANACEJL.
( io4 )
C A M P A NA C E JE.'
VIOLA TRICOLOR. PANSIE, Or
THREE-COLOURED VIOLET.
ST NO NT MA. Viola tricolor. Pbarm. Dale. 239. Bergius.
708. Murray, vi. 33. Viola tricolor arvenfis. Batik Pin. 200.
V. tricolor fylveftris. Park. 755. Ger. Emac. 854. Jacea tricolor
five Trinitatis flos. J.. Batik Hi. 546. Ray. Synop. 336. Hall
Bift. Stirp. Helv. 569. Hud/. Flor. Ang. 331. Withering. Bot.
Arr. 957. Curt. Flor. Loud. Flor. Dan. 623. /3 Viola tricolor
hortenfis repens. C. B.
Syngenefia- Monogamia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1007.
Gen. Ck Cal. 5-phyllus. Cor. 5-petala, irregularis, poftice • cor-
nuta. Caps, fupera, 3-valvis, i-locularis.
Sp. C/j. V. caule triquetro diffufo, foL oblongis incifis, ftipulis
pinnatifidis.
ROOT annual, fimple, tapering, fibrous. Stalk from four to fix
inches high, branched, thick, angular, fucculent. Leaves various
ihaped, ovate, or elliptical, crenated, narroweft at the upper part of
the plant, often three together, on long footftalks. Stipulx com-
pound, cut into linear fegments. Flowers folitary, tricoloured,
placed on long angular footftalks furniflied with a pair of membra-
nous ftipulse near the flower. Calyx of five pointed leaves, of which
the three uppermoft are fomewhat. fmaller than the others. Corolla
pentapetalous, irregular. The two uppermoft petals roundifh, erecl:,
dark purple; the two lateral petals elliptical, obtufe, yellowifh, rough
at the bafe, and marked with purple lines; lower petal broad, notched
in the middle, yellow, tinged with, dark radiated lines, forming
behind
( 'oS )
behind a fpur-like procefs or nectarium. Filaments five, very fhort.
Antherse fcaly, lax, united, two-celled, terminated by an orange-
coloured membrane. Germen conical. Style twilled at the bafe.
Stigma round, obliquely perforated, permanent. Capfule one-celled,
three valved, containing numerous oval mining feeds.
It grows in corn fields, wafte and cultivated grounds, flowering all
the fummer months.
This plant varies much by cultivation, and by the vivid colouring
of its flowers often becomes extremely beautiful in gardens, where it
is diftinguifhed by various names.
To the tafte this plant, in its recent ftate, is extremely glutinous,
or mucilaginous, accompanied with the common herbaceous flavour
and roughnefs. By diftillation with water, according to Haafe,3 it
affords a fmall quantity of odorous eflential oil, of a fomewhat acrid
tafte. The dried herb yields about half its weight of watery extract,
the frefh plant about one eighth.
Though many of the old writers on the Materia Medica reprefent
this plant as a powerful medicine in epilepfy, afthma, ulcers, fcabies,
and cutaneous complaints, yet the viola tricolor owes its prefent cha-
racter as a medicine to the modern authorities of Starck,b Metzger,c
Haafe,d and others,0 efpecially as a remedy for the crufta ladlea. For
this purpofe, a handful of the frefh herb, or half a dram of it dried, and
boiled two hours in milk,*is to be drained and taken night and morn-
ing. Bread, with this decoction, is alfo to be formed into a poultice,
and applied to the part. By this treatment it has been obferved, that
the eruption during the firft eight days increafes, and that the urine,
when the medicine fucceeds, has an odour fimilar to that of cats ;
but on continuing the ufe of the plant a fufficient time, this fmell
goes off", the fcabs difappear, and the fkin recovers its natural purity.
» De viola tricolore. Erlang. 1782.
b De crujla lacJea infantum ejufdemque remedio diJfertatioy quam Acad, fcient. Lugd,
Gall, pramio coronavit. 1776. Franc, ad Moen. 1779. See alfo London Medical
Journal, vol. ii.
e Verm. Med. Schriften. vol. 2. A L. c.
e Armftrong's publication on this fubjeft we have not feen. In Sweden many tefti-
monies of the good effe&s of this plant have been publifhed. See Murray. I. c.
No. 9. — Part II.
Inftances
( io6 }
Inftanccs of the fuccefsful exhibition of this medicine, as cited by
thefe authors, are very numerous ; indeed this remedy, under their
management, feems rarely, if ever, to have failed. It appears,
however, that Murfinna/ Ackermann,5 and Henning,h were lefs
fortunate in the employment of this plant ; the laft of whom
declares, that in the different cutaneous disorders in which he ufed
it, no benefit was derived.
Haafe, who adminiftered this fpecies of violet in various forms,
and large dofes, extended its ufe to many chronic diforders ; and
from the great number of cafes in which it proved fuccefsful, we are
defirous of recommending it to a further trial in this country.
It is remarkable that Bergius fpeaks of this plant as a ufeful muci-
laginous purgative, and takes no notice of its efficacy in the crufta
la&ea, or in any other difeafe.
f Med. chirurg. Beobacht. 2. Swnml. p. 1-07. &c
* See Comment, de rebusy &c. vol. 27. 170.
fc See Beob. iiber elnige Jrzneymtttel. p. 65.
The remaining medicinal plants, belonging to this order, are the
fpecies of the convolvulus, officinally called Mechoacanna, convol-
vulus major, Turpethum and Soldanella; Dentaria or Plumbago
europaea : Viola canina, or dog's violet, the roots of which have
lately been difcovered to be both emetic and cathartic.
PAPILONACEM.
( i©7 )
PAPIL O NA C EM.
ASTRAGALUS EXSCAPUS. STEMLESS MILK VETCH.
SYNONYM A. Aftragalus exfcapus. Off. Murray, vi. 83. Jacquin
Collect, ad bot. vol. 1. p. 269. Icon, ejufd. Plant, rar. vol. i.fafc-
i.t. 17. Cf. Winter I. Ind. Hort. bot. Pcjlin. p. 14. Aftragalus
perennis fupinus, foliis et filiquis hifpidis, fiore luteo. Knautb. FL
Hal. p. 41. Buxbaum. PL Hal, p. 32. Cicer montanum a^x0».
Bauh. Pin. 341. Glaux lanuginofa montana acaulos. Rupp. FL-
jfen. ed. Hall. 270. Ic. Gir tanner. L c. inf.
Diadelphia- Decandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 892.
Gen. Ch. Legumen biloculare, gibbum;.
Sp. Ch.. A. acaulis exfcapus, leguminibus lanatis, foliis villofis.-
ROOT perennial, fimple, or generally branched, towards tHe
extremity; very long, {lender, running deeply in the ground. Leaves
all radical, long, pinnated, confifting of numerous pinnse, which are
regular, ovate, oppofite, villous, entire, gradually fmaller towards
the top of the leaf, at which (lands a fingle leafit. The flowers are
large, of a pale yellow colour, and placed at the crown of the root.
Calyx tubular, deeply cut into five long pointed teeth. Corolla
papilionacious, confifting of the vexillum, which is large, ftraight,,
clofing, emarginated at the apex, two alse or oblong lateral petals,
and a fhort blunt carina or keel-lhaped under-petal. Filaments ten,
nine of which are united, and all furnifhed with fmall roundifh
antherae. Germen oblong. Style tapering, bent upwards, and
fupplied with a blunt ftigma. Pod oblong, hairy, two-valved, con-
taining kidney-fhaped feeds.
This fpecies of Aftragalus is a native of Hungary, growing in
mountainous fituations. It was firft introduced into the Royal Garden
at Kew by Jacquin in 1787.*
8 See. Hort. Kew.
The
( >°3 )
The root, which is the medicinal part of the plant, is, in its dried
ftate, rough, and wrinkled, in long flender pieces, externally brown,
internally white, and eafily dividing longitudinally into filamentous
fibres. It is deftitute of odour, but to the tafte it is bitterim, and
fomewhat aftringent. In decoction its tafte approaches to that of
liquorice; fome however compare its flavour to that of bitter almonds.1*
It yields about a third part of its weight of extract by means of water,
but by fpirit a very inconfiderable quantity is obtained.
Since the year 1786 this plant has been much celebrated as a remedy
in fyphilitic complaints. It was firft brought into notice by Profeffbr
Winterl, at Peft, who wrote to his friends in Vienna, that on the
borders of Hungary it was in common ufe as a remedy for the vene-
real difeafe ; in confequence of this information it was tried with
fuccefs at the General Hofpital by Quarin.* From Vienna its repu-
tation fpread over all Germany ; nor does its character reft wholly
oh the teftimony of foreigners, as Dr. Crighton, J during his refidence
at Vienna had occafion to witnefs its efficacy. This root is employed
in decoction in the proportion of half an ounce to a pint of water,
and taken warm night and morning : it is alfo occafionally to be ufed
externally. By perfevering a few weeks in the ufe of this decoction,
we are told that, without mercury, the various fymptoms of the moft
inveterate fyphilis, as nodes, exoftofes, tophi, fcabies, venereal blotches,
buboes, ulcers, &c. have been effectually cured. Befides the authors
above noticed, we may remark, that the fubfequent publications of
Endter,d Wegerich,e Girtanner/ Werner,5 Tietz,h Carmanti,1 all tend
in fome meafure to confirm the efficacy of this root.
Its ufe is perfectly fafe ; and Carmanti and others found it necef-
fary to make the decoction much ftronger than that before mentioned.
Profeffbr Hunczowfky, though unable to difcover its anti-venereal
powers, admits it to be an ufeful remedy in rheumatifm.
Its fenfible effects are an increafe of the cutaneous and urinary
difcharges.
fc Endter. Diffl de AJlrag. ex/capo. p. 12.
* Vide Animadv. pradl.
% Dr. C's letter is publifhed by Girtanner, and in the London Med. Journal, v. 9. 405.
d L, c. e Dijf. de Ajlragali exfcapi radice. Erf. 1789.
* Abh. iiber d. verier, krankh. vol. i. p. 406. & fiq. * See D'tjj'. de virtute Saponaria
off. 1789. h Vide DijJ\ de virtute AJlrag. &c. 1790. 1 Vide Opufc. tberapeut. v. 2.
PTEROCARPUS
( i°9 )
PTEROCARPUS SANTALINUS. RED SAUNDERS TREE.
STNONTMA. Santalum rubrum. Pharm. Lond. fcf Edinb. San-
dalum rubrum. Rumph. Amb. vol. 2. p. 47. Moutouchi fuberofa*
Aublet. Gaiau. vol. 2. p. 742* /. 200. Conf. Supp. Plant. 318.
Diadelphia Decandria. Lin. Gen. Plant.. 854.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-dentatus. Caps, falcata, foliacea, varicofa. Sem.
aliquot folitaria..
Sp. Ch. P. foliis ternatis fubrotundis retufis glaberrimis, petalis cre-
natis undulatis*
A LARGE tree, fending off lofty alternate branches, and covered
with rough bark, refembling that of common alder. Leaves alternate,
on footftalks, in our fpecirnen placed in pairs, and divided into three
fimple leaves, but according to the Supp. plant, the leaves are three
together, and each feparating into four of five alternate pinnae: fimple
leaves roundifh or ovate, blunt, retufe, or fomewhat notched at the
apex, entire, veined, above fmooth, beneath hoary. Flowers yellow,
in axillary fpikes. Stipulse none. Bracteae none. Calyx rough, cut at
the brim into five fhort fegments. Corolla papilionacious; vexillum
obcordate, erecT:, fomewhat reflexed at the fides, dentated, waved,
yellow, ftriated with red ; alas Ipreading, edges appearing toothed ;
carina oblong, a little inflated, fhort. Filaments ten, diadelphous, fur-
nifhed with white round antherae. Germen on a footftalk, oblong,,
compreffed, hairy. Style curved. Stigma obtufe. Pod roundifh,,
compreffed, fmooth, falcated upwards, lower margin keel-fhapedy
containing a round compreffed feed..
This tree is a native of India, affecting mountainous fituations..
Its characters were firft afcertained by Rdnig, who fent a fpecimen
and defcription of it to the younger Linnaeus, by whom it is pub-
limed in the Species plantarum.
No. 9.— Part II. 2 E The
( no )
The annexed figure, which fhould have been given in the firft
part of Medical Botany, is taken from a very perfect fpecimen in the
Herbarium of Sir Jofeph Banks.3
There is reafon to believe, that feveral red woods, capable of com-
municating this colour to fpirituous liquors, are fold as Red Saunders;
but the true officinal kind appears, on the heft authority, to be of this
tree, which is extremely hard, of a bright garnet red colour, and
bears a line poliih. It is only the inner fubftance of the wood that is
ufed as a colouring matter, and the more florid red is moft efteemed.
On being cut it is faid to manifeft a fragrant odour, which is more
efpecially perceptible in old trees.
According to Lewis, this wood " is of a dull red almoft blackifh
colour on the outfide, and a deep brighter red within ; its fibres are
now and then curled, as in knots. It has no manifeft fmell, and little
or no tafte : even of extracts made from it with water, or with fpirit,
the tafte is inconfiderable. To watery liquors it communicates only a
yellowifli tinge, but to rectified fpirit a fine deep red : a fmall quantity
of an extract, made with this menftruum, tinges a large one of frefh
fpirit of the fame elegant colour ; though it does not, like moft other
refinous bodies, difTolve in expreffed oils : of diftilled oils, there are
fome, as that of lavender, which receive a red tincture from the wood
itfelf, and from its refinous extract, but the greater number does not.""
Red Saunders has been efteemed as a medicine ; but its only ufe
attaches to its colouring property.
The juice of this tree, like that of fome others, affords a fpecies
of fanguis draconis.
a The fpecimen is accompanied with a piece of the wood, which anfwers to the
defcription here given. b M. M. 579.
The medicinal plants of this order, which remain unnoticed, are
Systematic Names.
Lupinus albus
Genilla canafienus
Ononis arvenlis
Vicia Faba
Ervum Lens
Ervum Ervilia
Cicer arietinum
Galega officinalis
Trifolium melilotus off.
Officinal.
Lupinus
Rhodium lignum
Ononis
Faba
Lentes
Ervum
Cicer
Galega
Melilotus
English.
White Lupine
Rhodium Wood
Reft-harrow
Garden-bean
Lentil, or flat Tare
Officinal Tare
Chick Pea
Goat's-rue
Melilot Trefoil
TRICOCCJE.
( III )
T R I C 0 C C jE.
SIPHONIA ELASTICA. INDIA RUBBER ; Or
ELASTIC RESIN TREE.
S TNO NTMA. Hevea guianenfis. Aublet. Hi/lore des plantes de la
Guiane Fran^oife. torn. 2. p. 871. tab. 335. Caoutchouc. Richard^
in Ro%ier obf.fur la phyfique. torn. 2y.p. 138. 2. Jatropa elaftica.
Supp. Plant. The figure by Frefnau in Mem. de L'Acad. des Scien.
a. 175. t. 20. is erroneous.
Monoecia Monadelphia. Schr. Gen. Plant. 1465.
Gen. Ch. Masc. Cor. o. Cal. globofo-campanulatus, femiquin-
quefidus. Filament, colum. Anthera 5, adnata?.
Fem, Cor, o. Cal. 5-fidus, patens, folitarius, racemum
terminans. Sty/us o. Stigmata 3. Caps. 3-locu-
laris, lignofa, duriflima.
Sp. Ch, * S. foliis ternatis ellipticis integerrimis fubtus canis longe
petiolatis. Supp. Plant.
A LARGE ftraight tree, growing to the height of fifty or fixty
feet ; at the upper part fending off numerous branches, covered with
rough bark. Leaves on long footftalks, ternate, elliptical, fomewhat
pointed, entire, veined, fmooth, on the underfide whitifli. Flowers
male and female on the fame tree, fmall, in dividing racemi at the
ends of the branches. Male flowers numerous : calyx globofo-
campanulate, five-cleft, fegments erect, pointed. Corolla none.
Filaments in a column, fhorter than the calyx. Antherse five, united.
Female flower folitary, larger than the male, and placed at the extre-
mity of the racemus : calyx bell-fhaped, cut into five teeth, which
are acute, patent, or recurved, deciduous. Germen roundifh, fhorter
than the calyx. Style none. Stigmata three, deprefled. Capfule
large, three-parted, woody, very hard, covered with fibrous bark,
three-celled, valves opening. Seeds ovate, fpotted.
This
( »2 )
This tree is a native of South America, growing abundantly in the
woods of Guiana, in the Province of Quito, and along the borders
of the River of Amazons, in the kingdom of Mexico.
The younger Linnaeus admitted this tree into the Supp. Plant, under
the genus Jatropa, to which its fruit feemed to bear a greater affinity
than to that of any other ; but by the diligence of Richard* its cha-
racters have been found fufficiently different to conftitute a new genus,
which Schreber calls Siphonia. This we have therefore adopted, ftill
preferring the fpecific name elaftica.
The fubftance, known by the names India rubber, elaftic gum,
Cayenne refin, cautchuc, and by the French caoutchouc, is prepared
from the juice of this tree : as fubfervient to feveral medical or
chirurgical purpofes, it comes within the fcope of this work, and
mult therefore prove fufficiently interefting to the medical reader.
This fingular fubftance was little known in Europe till long after
the commencement of the prefent century ; and its origin and com-
pofition was firft learned from M. de la Condamine,b who by travelling
into the interior parts of South America had an opportunity of acquir-
ing the neceflary information. This active and enterprizing member
of the French Academy found that the Caoutchouc was formed from
the juice of a large tree, which has fmce been botanically examined
and afcertained to be that here reprefented.0
The manner of obtaining this juice is by making incifions through
the bark of the lower part of the trunc of the tree, from which the
fluid refm iiTues in great abundance, appearing of a milky whitenefs
as it flows into the veflel placed to receive it, and into which it is
conducted by means of a tube or leaf fixed in the incifion, and fup-
ported with clay. On expofure to the air this milky juice, according
to Aublet, gradually infpiflates into a foft reddifh elaftic refin ; but
M. de la Borde, and fome others, affert that the juice undergoes a
certain preparation before its infpiffation, which is effected by a pecu-
a Vide Rozier obf. fur la phyfique*. torn. 27.
b Relation cFun voyage dans I'interieur de I'Jmerique meridionalc^ in Mem, de FAcad.
1751. p. 322.
c It was taken from a very complete fpecimen in the poiTeflion of Sir Jofeph Bank?..
We muft remark however, that fome other vegetable juices admit of being formed into
afpecies of caoutchouc, of which Frefnau has given an. account. L. c. p. 324.
liar
( »3 )
Har procefs, which the Indians keep a profound fecret.d To fuit the
different purpofes for which it is employed in South America, the
Caoutchouc is fhaped into various forms;6 but it is commonly brought
to Europe in that of pear-fhaped bottles, which are faid to be formed
by fpreading the juice of the Siphonia over a proper mould of clay, and
as foon as one layer is dry another is added till the bottle be of the thick-
nefs defired. It is then expofed to a denfe fmoke, or to a fire, until
it becomes fo dry as not to flick to the fingers, when by means of
certain inftruments of iron or wood it is ornamented on the outfide
with various figures. This being done it remains only to pick
out the mould, which is eafily effected, on being firft foftened with
water.
The fubftance, thus manufactured, is fo well known as to render
any particular defcription of it unneceffary. It may be fubjected to
the action of fome of the moft powerful menftrua without fuffering
the leaft change, while its pliability and elafticity are eminently
peculiar to itfelf. It is true that the lactefcent juice of feveral vege-
tables may be converted into a fubftance refembling the Caoutchouc,
but no art has yet been difcovered to give it the fame properties.
The Chinefe elaftic refin is faid to be prepared of caftor oil and
lime ;f or, according to Retzius, it is nothing but a certain expreffed
oil evaporated by heat :s hence its eafy folubility.
With a view to inveftigate the interefting nature of the Caoutchouc,
and to render it of more general utility, feveral able chemifts have
been diligently employed, efpecially Macquer,h Achard,1 Juliaans,k and
Berniard,1 from whom its chemical hiftory is to be learned-: our duty
however is to ftate only fome of the principal facts.
- Vide Rozier. obf. et menu fur la phyfique. torn. I. p. 464.
e The curious diverfity of figures in which this fubftance was fold in Portugal is
noticed by Mr. Twifs. See Travels through Portugal and Spain. 323.
f V. Faujas de Saint-Fond Suite de la defcription des experiences a'erojlatiques torn. 2.
p. 258.
8 Pharm. reg. veg. p~ 60.
h Mem. de V Acad, des Sc. de Paris, pour 1768.
1 Chymifch phyf. Schriften cap. De refina elajlica. k Dijf. de Refma elajlica Cayennenfi.
1 See Rozier Obf. fur la Phyfique. torn. 17.
No. 10.— Part II. 1 F Though
( "4 )
Though it appears that neither water nor alcohol, aided by all the
heat capable of being produced in Papin's digefter, could dhTolve this
fubftance, yet its lblution was effected not only by the concentrated
mineral acids, but in a confiderable degree even by moft of the
unctuous, diftilledj and empyreumatic oils. However, as it was found
that the folutions of this inipitiated juice by thefe menftrua irrecover-
ably loft their elafticity, and became ufelefs, the great defideratum of
re-forming the Caoutchouc was not attained till ether was employed
as its folvent; which was firft done by Macquer, who for this purpofe
found it necefiary to ufe the vitriolic ether in a highly rectified ftate.
The Caoutchouc, cut into finail pieces, and put into a proper veflel
with as much of the ether as was fufficient to cover it, was completely
diflblved without the application of heat. This folution, which was
tranfparent, and of an 'amber colour, on being thrown into water,
did not produce a milky liquor; but there arofe to the furface a folid
membrane, poflefTing the elafticity and other properties of the Caout-
chouc. This experiment was alfo executed with fuccefs byTheden;"1
therefore thofe with whom it failed muft have ufed ether in a lefs
concentrated ftate. According to Theden one dram of the Caoutchouc
requires for its perfect folution an ounce of ether. Nitrous ether
tliuolves but a fmall proportion of the Caoutchouc, and at the fame
time deftroys its elaftic power.
It has been aflerted that the elaftic refin not only diflblves in oil of
guaiacum by digeftion, but that on evaporating the oil, the refin in
a little time recovers its elaftic property. By the induftry of Achard,
who made this difcovery, we likewile learn that folutions of this
fubftance, made by the etherial oils, may be decompofed by the
addition of fpirit of wine, when the Caoutchouc feparates from the
oil in the form of mucilage, and on being fufficiently expofed to the
air, is reftored to its former firmnefs and elafticity.
However Juliaans, who attempted this procefs, was unable to
re-produce a fubftance poflefling the characters of the elaftic refin : it
is therefore to be feared that this method, which feemed to promife
an eafy and cheap way of forming various inftruments of the Caout-
chouc, has been prematurely recommended : nor does the method of
m N. Bemerk. a. d. Wundarzneyk, P. 2. p> 152.
foftening
( IIJ >
foftening the elaftic refin with the animal oil of Dippelius, or with
oil of turpentine, as propofed by Heriffant, for the purpofe of
forming it into probes, &c. produce the effedt, defired. It appears
therefore that Macquer's procefs of diffolving this fubftance in ether,
by which he was enabled to give a coat of Caoutchouc of confiderable
thicknefs to a cylindrical mould of wax, is the beft way yet difcovered
of adapting this fubftance to furgjcal and other purpofes : for on
immerfmg the waxen mould, thus covered with the elaftic refm, in
boiling water, the wax foon melts and rifes to the furface, leaving
behind a regular tube of Caoutchouc. In order to render the tubes
of fufEcient firmnefs to be ufed as catheters, it has been recommended
that gold or lilver wire, rolled in a clofe fpiral manner, mould be
coated with the elaftic refm, and thefe, as poflefling both pliability
and firmnefs, are faid to fucceed very well. Various other methods
of forming catheters, bougies, peflaries, trufles, &c. of this fubftance,
are to be found in the Journal de Medicine," efpecially by Durand
and Juville ; and by its remarkable flexibility and elafticity it accom-
modates itfelf to the motion of the body, and thereby poffeffes peculiar
advantages. For a fyringe, or injecting machine, the common form
in which it is brought here is exceedingly well adapted, and only
requires that a proper pipe be fixed to the neck of the elaftic bottle
to render it fit for ufe, which is now well known.
We are told that in Quito one of thefe bottles, fattened to a hollow
reed, and filled with water, is always prefented at entertainments to
each of the guefts, who ufe it as an injection before eating.
The Indians make boots of the Caoutchouc ; alfo a kind of cloth
which they ufe for the fame purpofes as we ufe oil cloth. Flambeaux
are likewife made of this refm, which yield a beautiful light without
any difagreeable fmell. In this country it is much ufed for rubbing
out black-lead pencil marks.
■ See torn, 60. fcf. 62.
THEA.
THE A.
( 116 )
TEA-TREE.
SYNONYM J. Thea. Pharm.V. Dale, Geoffrey, Alflon, Lewis,
Ed. New Dlfpenf. Bergius, Murray, Cullen, &e. Chaa. Bauh.
Pin. The Sinenfium feu Tfia Japonenfibus. Breytu Exot. Plant.
Tsja, Thea frutex folio Cerafi flore Rofae fylveftris. K'dmpfer.
Amam. exot. Le Thee. Fougeroux de Bondaroi in Rozier, Obf
et Mem. fur la Phyfique. torn, i.f.i. See Lettfoms Natural Hi/lory
of the Tea-tree.
Polyandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 668.
Gen. Ch. Cor. 6-f. 9-petala. Cal. 5-f. 6-phyllus. Caps. 3-cocca.
Sp. Ch. x ( Bohea ) foliis elliptico-oblongis rugofis.
B R OA D-LEA V* D TEA.
® foliis lanceolatis planis.
Narrow-lea r'o Tea.'
Alton. Hort. Kew.
A SMALL evergreen tree or fhrub, much branched, and covered
with a rough dark grey bark. Leaves elliptical, or lanceolate, entire,
alternate, obtufely ferrated, veined, placed on fhort footftalks. Calyx
fmall, fmooth, perfiftent, divided into five obtufe fegments. Flowers
white, often two or three together, on feparate peduncles, placed at the
axilla? of the leaves. Corolla varying in the number and fize of its
petal s, but commonly fix, of an irregular roundifh form. Filaments
very numerous, fhort, inferted at the bafe of the corolla. Antherse
large, yellow. Germen roundifh, or rather triangular. Style trifld,
fpreading at the top, and furnifhed with fimple ftigmata. Capfule
three-celled, opening. Seeds three, oblong, brown.
This fhrub is a native of China and Japan, and (according to Mr.
Aiton) was firft introduced into this country in 1768 by John Ellis,
Efq. who raifed it from feed, and prefented it to the King's gardener
at Kew. But we are told that the Tea-plant which firft flowered in
Europe, belonged to his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, at
Sion-houfe*
( "7 )
All the various kinds of Tea imported here come under the deno-
mination of Bohea and Green, and even thefe are fuppofed to be the
produce of the fame fpecies of the plant. Linnazus however has de-
scribed them as fpecifically different, founding the diftincrion in the
number of their petals. Others have alfo obferved, that the leaves of
Tea plants differ confiderably both in form and colour, and this diffe-
rence we have frequently noticed in the Tea growing in the vicinity
of London; but whether thefe which the gardeners fell by the name
of Bohea and Green Tea plants are to be regarded as permanent
varieties, or diftinct fpecies, we have not the means to decide. De
Loureiro a has defcribed three fpecies of Thea, viz. Thea cochin-
chinenfis, Thea cantonenfis, and Thea oleofa. The firft is a native
of Cochin-China, where it is alfo cultivated, and ufed medicinally in
hot weather as a fudorific and refrigerant. The Thea oleofa grows
wild in the neighbourhood of Canton, where an oil obtained from
its feed is ufed for various domeftic purpofes. The Thea cantonenfis,
which Loureiro carefully examined in its native foil, was found to
bear a clofe refemblance to another variety called Siab chong cbd, and
by the Europeans Souchong. Both thefe are brown, but more fra-
grant and valuable than the common green Tea, which grows in the
province of Fo kien. Notwithstanding that this author has defcribed
the three fpecies of Thea above mentioned, he fays that on examining
the dried flowers of the green Tea, brought from the province of
Kiang fi, he obferved a great diverfity in the number of the parts of
the calyx and corolla: hence he concludes that all the various Chinefe
Teas are taken from the fame botanical fpecies, and that the different
flavour and appearance of Teas depend upon the nature of the foil,
the culture, and method of preparing the leaves.
This opinion, which is founded on the fport.ive tendency of the
flo* ers of the Tea plant, clearly fhows the fallacy of' diftinguifhing
the uohea and green Tea trees by the number of their petals, which
even in this country have been found to vary from three to nine ; yet
this circumftance, though it proves the infufHciency of the Linnean
charaders, by no means determines the botanical identity of the green
and bohea Teas ; and while the prefent narrow and jealous policy of
a Flor. Cochinchinefis.
No. 10. — Part II, 2 G the
( ii8 )
the Chinefe continues, many interefting particulars refpecting the
natural hiftory of Tea muft ftill remain unknown to Europeans: hence
I have thought myfelf unauthorized to add a fpecific name to the
plate of the Tea plant here annexed, *which reprefents the variety
£ in the Hort. Kew. or the Thea viridis of the London gardeners.
The various Teas imported into Europe are obtained both from
the wild and cultivated plant. The manner of gathering and pre-
paring the leaves, as practiced in Japan, is very fully defcribed by
Ksempfer, and is, as far as our information extends, conformable to
the method ufed by the Chinefe.
The firft gathering of the Tea leaves, according to this author,
commences about the latter end of February, when the leaves are
young and unexpanded. The fecond collection is made about the
beginning of April, and the third in June. The firft collection,
which confifts only of the fine tender leaves, is raoft efteemed, and is
called Imperial Tea. The fecond is called Tootsjaa, or Chinefe Tea,
becaufe it is infufed and drunk after the Chinefe manner. The laft,
which is the.coarfeft and cheapeft, is chiefly confumed by the lower
clafs of people. Befides the three kinds of Tea here noticed, it may
be obferved, that by garbling or forting thefe, the varieties of Tea
become ftill farther multiplied. As many Tea plants grow on cliffs
and places of difficult accefs, the Chinefe Tea gatherers are faidf to
have occafional recourfe to the affiftance of monkies, which are chafed
up the Tea trees, and fo much irritated that in their fury they bite
off the branches, and throw them down in refentment : the branches
are then taken up, and the leaves picked off. The leaves are not
collected from the cultivated plant till it is three years old; and after
growing feven or ten years it is cut down, in order that the numerous
young fhoots may afford a greater fupply of leaves.
The leaves fhould be dried as foon as poflible after they are col-
lected ; and for this purpofe Ksempfer relates, that publick buildings
are erected, containing from five to ten and even twenty fmall fur-
naces about three feet high, each having at the top a large iron pan.
There is alfo a long table covered with mats, on which the leaves are
* Taken from the plant now in flower in the ftove of John Liptrap, Efq.
+ See Lettfom. I. c,
laid
( U§ )
laid and rolled by workmen who fit ground it. The iron pan being
heated to a certain degree, by a fire uade in the furnace beneath, a
few pounds of the leaves are put upon, tne Pani an<^ continually turned
and fhifted by the hands till they become too hot to be endured ;
they are then thrown upon the ma'.s to be. rolled, which is done be-
tween the palms of the hands, afte v which they are cooled as fpeedily
as poffible.
In order that all the moifture of the leaves may be completely
diffipated, and their twifted form be better preferved, the above pro-
cefs is repeated feveral times with the fame leaves, but lefs heat is
employed than at firft. The Tea thus manufactured is afterwards
forted according to its kinds or goodnefs. Some of the young tender
leaves are never rolled, and are immerfed in hot water before they
are dried.
From this account of the Japanefe method of curing their Teas
it appears, that a prompt and complete exfiqcation is the chief art
employed. We fufpect however, that the Chinefe are more indebted
to art than to nature for the various kinds of Tea with which they
fupply this country. Many of their Teas are fo widely different in
tafte, odour, colour, and form, that inftead of appearing to be the
leaves of the fame fpecies of plant, they are fo much difguifed as
fcarcely to manifeft any refemblance to each other. It is true that
fome fpecies and varieties of the Tea, as appears by Loureiro, are
naturally more odorous than others ; yet we cannot fuppofe that
nature ever made them totally different. The fame obfervation will
be equally applicable to the various flavours and colours of this exotic.
We may therefore infer, that the Chinefe method of curing their fine
Teas is not quite fo fimple as that practifed by the Japanefe.
Tea was firft introduced into Europe by the Dutch Earf India
Corny ny, and into England about the year 1666, when it fold for
lixty millings <$> lb , and for many years its great price limited its ufe
only to the moft opulent. However, for a long time paft it has been
the common beverage of both the rich and poor ; and its effects have
been very varioufly reprefented ; but as to enter fully upon this fub-
ject would far exceed the limits of this work, I jfhall refer the reader
for a more full account to Dr. Lettfom's elaborate hiftory of the Tea
tree; and conclude this article with a tranfciipt of its medicinal powers,
as
( )
given by Dr. Cullen, whofe opinion in this place cannot fail to be'
ell received. g
" With refpect to its qualities is a medicine, that is, its power of
changing the ftate of the human body, we might fuppofe it afcer-
tained by the experience of its daily ufe ; but from the univerfality
of this ufe in very different conditions of the plant, and in every
poffible condition of the performs employing it, the conclufions
drawn from its effects muft be very precarious and ambiguous,
and we muft attempt by other means to afcertain its qualities with
more certainty.
" To this purpofe it appears, from the accurate Dr. Smith's expe-
riments De Aftione Miifcalari, No. 36, that an infufion of green
Tea has the effect of deftroying the fenfibility of the nerves, and
the irritability of the mufcles ; and from the experiments of Dr.
Lettfom, it appears that green Tea gives out in diftillation an
odorous water, which is powerfully narcotic.
" That the recent plant contains fuch an odorous narcotic power,
we might prefume from the neceffity which the Chinefe find of
f drying it with much heat before it can be brought into ufe ; and
6 that, even after fuch preparation, they muft abftain from the ufe
e of it for a year or more, that is, till its volatile parts are {till far-
*■ ther diflipated : and it is laid, that unlefs they ufe this precaution,
the Tea in a more recent ftate manifeftly mows ftrong narcotic
? powers. Even in this country, the more odorous Teas often fhow
' their fedative powers in weakening the nerves of the ftomach, and
* indeed of the whole fyftem.
<* From thefe confiderations we conclude very firmly, that Tea
' is to» be confidered as a narcotic and fedative fubftance ; and that
* it is efpecially fuch in its moft odorous ftate, and therefore lefs in
< the bohea than in the green Tea, and the moft fo in the more
* odorous, or what are called the finer kinds of the latter.
" Its effects, however, feem to be very different in different per-
' fons ; and hence the different, and even contradictory accounts
f that are reported of thefe effects. But if we confider the difference
' of conftitution, which occafions fome difference of the operation
* of the fame medicine in different perfons, and of which we have
" a remark-
( 121 )
** a remarkable proof in the operation of opium, we mall not be
" furprifed at the different operations of Tea.
" If to this we add the fallacy arifmg from the condition of the
" Tea employed, which is often fo inert as to have no effects at all ;
" and if we ftill add to this the power of habit, which can deftroy
*' the powers of the moft powerful fubftances, we fhall not allow
" the various and even contradictory reports of its effects to alter
M our judgment, with refpect to its ordinary and more general
*' qualities in affecting the human body.
" Thefe, from the experiments above mentioned, and from the
*' obfervations which I have made in the courfe of fifty years, in
" all forts of perfons, I am convinced that the qualities of Tea are
" narcotic and fedative.
" It has been often alleged, that fome.of the bad effects imputed
" to Tea are truly owing to the large quantity of warm water which
" commonly accompanies it ; and it is poffible that fome "bad effects
" may arife from this caufe : but from attentive obfervation I can
" affert, that wherever any confiderable effects appear, they are in
" nine of every ten perfons entirely from the qualities of the Tea ;
" and that any like effects of warm water do not appear in one of
" a hundred who take in this very largely.
" But while we thus endeavour to eftablifh the poifonous nature
<( of Tea, we do not at the fame time deny that it may fometimes
•* fhow ufeful qualities. It is very poffible, that in certain perfons,
tc taken in moderate quantity, it may, like other narcotics in a
** moderate dofe, prove exhilirating, or, like thefe, have fome effect
" in taking off irritability, or in quieting fome irregularities of the
" nervo s fyftem.
" As i«.s bad effects have been often imputed Xo the warm water
" that accompanies it, fo we have no doubt that fome of its good
" effects may alfo be afcribed to the fame caufe, and particularly its
" being fo often grateful after a full meal." 4
a Mat. Med. vol. 2. p. 309.
No. 10. — Part II.
2 H
•
WINTERA
( 122 )
WINTERA AROMATICA. WINTER'S BARK TREK
STNONTMA. Winterana aromatica. Solander in Med. Obfer-
vations fcf Inquiries, vol. 5. p. 41. 1. Drimys Winteri pedunculis
aggregatis terminalibus. Forfter in Nov. A51. Upfal. vol. 3. p. 181.
Laurifolia magelliana, cortice acri. Bauh. Pin. Periclymenum
re&um foliis laurinis cortice acri aromatico. Sloane mPhiL Tran/i
vol. 17. p. 923. tab. i.f. 1. 2.
♦ Winteranus cortex. Pharm. Edinb.
Polyandria Tetragynia. Schreb. Gen. Plant. 929.
Gen. Ch. Cal, 3-lobus. Petala 6. f. 12. Germina clavata. Stylus a.
Bacca clavata.
Sp, Ch. W. pedunculis aggregatis terminalibus,' piftillis quatuor.
THIS very large tree often rifes to the height of fifty feet. The
bark of the trunk is grey, and fomewhat wrinkled, but that on the
branches is green and fmooth. Leaves oval, or elliptical, entire,
obtufe, flat, fmpoth, fhirilng, evergreen, of a pale bluifh colour un-
derneath, and placed irregularly upon thick footftalks. Flowers white,
placed on long peduncles, which proceed from the alse of the leaves
at the tops of the branches. Bracteae oblong, entire, concave, pointed,
whitifh, placed at the bafe of the peduncles. Calyx of one leaf, firm,
dividing^ into three irregular pointed lobes. Corolla of feven petals,
which are unequal, oval, obtufe, concave, erect, white. Filaments
numerous, (from 15 to. 30) much fhorter than the petals* Antherae
large, oval, divided longitudinally. Germina from three to fix,
turbinated. Styles none. Stigmata divided, flat. Capfules flefhy,
containing four triangular feeds.
It is a native of the Streights of Magellan and Terra del Fuego.
Dr. Solander
( ™3 )
Dr. Solander relates that " the tree which produces the Winter's
•« Bark was utterly unknown to the Europeans till the return of
" Captain John Winter, who, in the year 1577, failed with Sir
" Francis Drake, as commander of a fhip called the Elizabeth,
" deftined for the South Seas ; but immediately after they had got
f<l through the Streights of Magellan, Captain Winter, on the 8th
" of October, was obliged, by ftrefs of weather, to part company,
" and to go back again into the Streights, from whence he returned
" into England in June 1579, and brought with him feveral pieces
" of this aromatic bark, which Clufms called after him Cortex Win-
" teranus. Several authors have mentioned it fmce in their botanical
" works ; but all they have faid has been copied from Clufms. No
" more was heard of this bark till the Dutch Fleet, under/ Admiral
" Van Nort, returned from the Streights of Magellan, in the year
c< 1600. Afterwards all the navigators who parTed through the
" Streights of Magellan took notice of the tree, on account of the
" ufefulnefs of its bark : but none furnifhed any defcription that
" could make it botanically known before Mr. George Handafyd
" came back from the Streights of Magellan in 1691, and brought
" with him fome dried fpecimens, which he gave to Sir Hans Sloane,
" and are now preferved in the Britifh Mufeum. Erom thefe fpeci-
" mens, and the account Mr. Handafyd gave of this tree, Sir Hans
" Sloane drew up a hiftory, and gave a figure in the Philofophical
" Tranfactions. Still the fyftematical botanifts could not give it a
" place in their catalogues, being unacquainted with its flowers and
" fruit." However this 1'ofs was fupplied by the induftry of Mr. Wallis,
Captain of the Dolphin, who returned from the South Seas in 1768,
bringing with him feveral botanical fpecimens of the Winter's Bark
Tree, one of which came into the poffeffion of Dr. John FothergilJ,
who caufed an engraving of it to be made by Ehret, which is pub-
limed, together with its botanical defcription written by Dr. Solander,
in the fifth volume of the Medical Obfervations and Inquiries, From
the plate here alluded to, the annexed figure is taken.
Though Winter's Bark has been very generally confounded with
the canella alba, yet they are well known to be totally different,
as we have already ftated, when fpeaking of the latter. ' See Med.
Bot. p. 320.)
Winter's
( )
Winter's Bark is of a dark brown cinnamon colour, with an aro-
matic fmell when rubbed, and of a pungent hot fpicy tafte, which
is lafting on the palate, though imparted llowly.
This bark has been thought to be a ufeful antifcorbutic ; but in
this character it feems to poffefs no advantage over the other pungent
aromatics, and is now generally fuperfeded by the canella alba, the
ufes of which we have before noticed.
In natural order the Wintera has been ranked with the oleracese,
but to this clafs it feems to have very little affinity.
SENTICOSjE.
AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA. COMMON AGRIMONY.
SYNONTMA. Agrimonia. P barm. Geoff, iii. Afi. Dale. 112.
Aljlon. i. 76. Lewis. 28. Edinb. New Difpenf. 119. Bergius.
386. Murray, Hi. 147. Eupatorium veterum feu Agrimonia.
Bauh. Pin. 321. Agrimonia. Gerard. Emac. 712. Agrimonia
vulgaris. Park, 594. Ray. Syn. 202. Agrimonia foliis pinnatis,
pinnulis alterne minimis. Hall. Hijl. Stirp. Helv. 991. A. Eupa-
toria. Hudfon. Flor. Ang. 206, Withering. Bot. Arr. 490. Ic.
Flor. Dan. 588. Curt. Flor. Lond. Mill. Illujlr.
Dodecandria Digynia. Din. Gen. Plant. 607.
Gen. Cb. Cal. 5-dentatus, altero obvallatus. Petala 5. Sem. 2.. in
fundo calycis.
Sp. Cb. A. foliis caulinis pinnatis, impari petiolata, frudibus hifpidis.
ROOT perennial, reddifh, fcaly. Stalk ered, round, hairy, reddifh,
varying from one to three feet in height. Leaves alternate, interruptedly
pinnated, compofed of five or fix pair of pinnas, with an odd one at
the
( "5 )
the end; the large pinna; are commonly feffile, Oppofite, ovate, deeply
ferrated, rough. Stipulae two, oppofite, ferrated, fpreading. Bra&eas
trifid. Flowers yellow, on fhort peduncles, in long fimple fpikes.
Calyx permanent, divided into five fegments, which are ovate, pointed,
externally furrounded with rigid hairs, internally clofed with a yellow
fubftance of a glandular appearance : involucrum at the bafe of the
germen, compofed of two dentated leaves. Corolla compofed of five
petals, which are ovate, yellow, fpreading, inferted into the glandular
fubftance of the calyx. Filaments eleven or twelve, yellowifh. Anthers
two-lobed. Germen beneath the calyx, fupporting two ftyles, with
blunt ftigmata. Capfule formed of the calyx, containing two roundifh
fmooth feeds.
It is common in fields about hedges and fhady places, flowering
in June and July.
" The leaves of Agrimony have a flightly bitterifh roughifh tafle,
accompanied with an agreeable though very weak aromatic flavour :
the flowers are in fmell ftronger and more agreeable than the leaves,
and in tafte jfomewhat weaker. They readily give out their virtues
both to water and to rectified fpirit. In diftillation with water the
leaves afford a fmall portion of a yellowifh eflential oil, which fmells
ftrongly and agreeably of the herb."*
This plant has been principally regarded in the character of a
mild aftringent and corroborant, and many authors recommend it as a
deobftruent, efpecially in hepatic and other vifceral obftructions.
Chomell relates two inftances of its fuccefsful ufe'in cafes where the
liver was much enlarged and indurated.* It has been ufed with
advantage in hsemorrhagic affections, and to give tone to a lax and
weak ftate of the folids. In cutaneous diforders, particularly in fcabies,
we have been lately told that it manifefts great efficacy ;b for this
purpofe it was given -infufed with liquorice in the form of tea: but'
according to Alfton it fhould be always exhibited in the ftate of
powder.
* Lewis. 1. c. * Ufuelles. t. 2. p. 165..
. b Becker Diff. de Eupatorio Grsecorum feu Agrimoniae viribus. Erf. 1783.
No. 10. — Part U.
GEUM
( "6 )
GEUM URBANUM. COMMON AVENS.
STNONTMA. Caryophyllata. Pbarm. Dale. 160. Geoff. Hi.
263. Aljion. i. 404. Lewis. 205. Edinb. New Difpenf. 164.
Bergius. 445. Murray. Hi. 122. Caryophyllata vulgaris. 2fo«i&.
BSfc 321. P#r/S. 136. PtfjK- 606. fy«<^. 253. Ger.
Emac. 995. G. urbanum. Hud/on. Flor.Ang. 198. Bot.
Arr. 537. /<;. Cwr/. Flor. Dan. t. 672.
Icofandria Polygynia. Lin. Gen. "Plant. 636.
Gen. Cb. Cal. 10-fidus. Petala 5. arifta geniculata.
Cb. G. flor. ere&is, frud. globofis villofis, ariftis uncinatis nudis,
foliis lyratis.
ROOT perennial, fibrous, brown- Stalks branched, fomewhat
angular, hairy, about two feet in height. Leaves varying, commonly
pinnated, hairy, toothed ; pinnae two pair, of which the lower are
almoft circular ; the upper pair elliptical ; terminal leaf the largeft,
and frequently cut into three lobes. Flowers terminal, on long hairy
peduncles. Calyx divided into ten fegments, which are alternately
large and fmall. Corolla compofed of five roundilh yellow petals,
widely fpreading from each other. Filaments numerous, yellowifh,
tapering, inferted into the calyx. Antherae roundifh. Germina many,
hairy, .collected into an orbicular fhape. Styles jointed in the middle,
enlarged at the top, and furnifhed with fimple ftigmata. Seeds
numerous, compreffed, rough, crooked near the extremity, terminated
by a long arifta.
It is a common Britifh plant, in woods and hedges, flowering from
June till Auguft.
The root, which is the part of this plant medicinally employed,
has an aromatic and fomewhat aftringent tafte, and a pleafant fmell
of the clove kind, efpecially when it is produced in dry and warm
foils.
n.u./k~i t, WmCttMU Oct?* ijet .
( I27 )
foils. " It gives out its aftringent matter equally to watery and fpi-
rituous menftrua ; its aromatic part mod perfectly to the latter. In
diftillation with water it yields a fmall quantity of a whitifh concrete
oily matter, of a very grateful fragrance." a
According to Buchhave it yields a greater proportion of watery
than of refmous extract.
This plant, though little ufed in Britain, is held in great eftimation
on the Continent, where its virtues have been long confidered as
extremely various : but the character in which it has been lately
received, and molt particularly celebrated fince the year 1780, is that
of a febrifuge; thus Buchhave,6 Aalkow, Callifen, Bang, Schonheyder,
and Tode, alfo Weber and Koch,c Anjou,d &c. all bear teftimony of
its efficacy, adducing numerous inftances of its fuccefsful exhibition
in obftinate intermittents, many of which yielded to the root of this
plant, after the Peruvian bark had failed.
It is faid that a tincture of this root, made in the proportion of
four ounces of the root digefted with a quart of brandy in a fand
heat, and given to the quantity of half an ounce or more, two, three,
or four times a day, feldom failed to cure agues. Others gave it with
equal fuccefs in decoction, powder, or electuary, in the proportion
in which the Cinchona bark is commonly employed.
This root has alfo been found an ufeful medicine in feveral chronic
diforders, as a general tonic and aftringent ; and experiments made by
Buchhave mow its antifeptic power to exceed that of Peruvian bark„
* Lewis. 1. c. b Obf. circa radicem Gei urb.
c Dijf. de nonnullorum febrifugorum virtute, et fpeciatim Gei urbani radicis efficacia.
d Dijf, de radice Caryophyllates.
Medicinal plants of this order not introduced into this work, are
Systematic Officinal English Name
Spiraea Filipendula Filipendula Dropwort
Spiraea Ulmaria Ulmaria Meadow-fweet
Geum rivale Geum rivale Water Avens
Potentilla Anferina Anferina Silvery Cinquefoil
Fragaria vefca Fragaria Strawberry
Alchemilla vulgaris Alchemilla Ladies-Mantle
JDUMOSJE.
( ia8 )
D U M 0 S JE.
SAMBUCUS EBULUS. DWARF ELDER.
SYNONYMA. Ebulus. Pharm. Geoff, Hi. 415. Dale. 3ig. Aljlon.
i. 485. Lewis. 376. Ed. New Dif. 184. Cullen.il. 534. Bcrgius.
240. Murray, iv. 22. Sambucus humilis feu Ebulus. jS<7tf£.
P/». 456. Ebulus five Sambucus humilis. Gerard. Emac. 1426.
Park. 209. P<y/. 461. Hall. Stirp. Helv. n.6yi. S. Ebulus.
Hudf.Ang. 130. Withering. Bot. Arr. 319. P/or. 213.
Fentandria Trigynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 372.
Gen. Cb. Cal. 5-partitus. Cor. 5-fida. Bacca 3-fperma.
Sp. Ch. S. cymis tripartitis, ftipulis foliaceis, caule herbaceo.
ROOT long, creeping. Stalk fix feet in height, herbaceous, erect,
roundifh, fmooth, channelled, fwelled at the joints, fending off oppofite
branches. Leaves oppofite, pinnated, compofed ofTour or five pair,
with an odd one at the extremity: pinna? fomewhat lanceolate, unequal
at the bafe, ferrated, veiny, downy underneath. Stipulse quadruple,
nearly heart-fhaped. Flowers in a terminal corymbus, divided into
three branches, compofed of numerous cyma?. Calyx divided into
five teeth, which are fhort, erect, pointed. Corolla monopetalous,
wheel-fhaped, divided into five fegments, which are ovate, pointed,
hollow, reflexed. Filaments five, thick, white, of the length of the
corolla. Antherae large, double, changing from a reddifti to a blackifh
colour. Germen below the corolla, ovate, fomewhat angular, fmooth.
Style none. Stigmata three, glutinous, reniform. Fruit a roundifh
black fingle-celled berry, containing three irregularly-fhaped feeds.
It is not unfrequent in hedges, flowering in June and July, but
feldom bringing its fruit to maturity.
Every
( ™9 )
Every part of the plant has a faint difagreeable fmell, refembling
that of common elder, but ftronger and more ungrateful ; and when
taken into the ftomach manifefts a greater mare of active power.
The root of the Ebulus, which is white, flefhy, and of a naufeous
bitter tafte, was formerly very generally employed in dropfies. A
decoction of two drams of it, or a fmall quantity of its expreffed juice,
promotes both the alvine and urinary difcharges ; and if the decoc-
tion is prepared from the bark of the frefh root, its activity is fo much
increafed, that it commonly proves both emetic and cathartic.
The inner bark of the ftalk, when recent, is equally powerful in
evacuating the primse viae ; and its effects, as a diuretic, on the
teftimony of Dr. Brocklefby,3 were found to be very considerable ;
but its operation is fo violent and precarious, that it is now very
rarely employed.
The berries, in their recent ftate, according to Scopoli,b prove a
gentle cathartic, though Haller c fays that he never experienced this
effect from their ufe.
The feeds are faid to be diuretic, and to have been given with
advantage in dropfical complaints : they alfo afford an oil, which
Haller applied with fuccefs in painful affections of the joints.
The leaves/ boiled in wine, and formed into a cataplafm, have
been recommended in France as a difcutient application to contufions
and tumours.
a See Oecon. & Med. Obfervations. p. 277.
b Flor. Cam. <= Hi/?. Stir p. Helv. n. 671.
d The odour of the green leaves drives away mice from granaries ; and the Silefians
ftrew thefe leaves where their pigs lie, under a perfuaGon that they prevent fome of the
difeafes to which thefe animals are liable.
f
No. 11.— Part II.
RHUS
( 130 )
RHUS CORIARIA. ELM-LEAVED SUMACH.
STNONTMA. Sumach. Pbarm. Dale. 314. Aljlon. it. 370.
Lezvis. 630. Ed. New Difpenf. 292. Bergins. 237. Murray,
iv. 25. Rhus folio, ulmi. Bauh. Pin. 414. Rhus Coriaria.
Ger. Emac. 14.J4. Sumach five Rhus obfoniorum & coriariorum.
Park. Tbeat. 1450. p« G resets. Ic. I) u Flame I ^ Trait e des arbres.
vol. i. p. 218. tab. 52.
Pentandria Trigynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 369.
Gen. Ch. Cal. 5-partitus. Petala 5. Ba'cca i-fperma.
Sb. Ch. R. foliis pinnatis obtufiufcule ferratis ovalibus fubtus villofis.
A SMALL tree rifing to the height of ten feet, fending off many
divaricating branches, and covered with a brown hairy bark. Leaves
pinnated, alternate, confirming of feveral pair of pinna?, which are
ovato-lance-fhaped, obtufely ferrated, fmooth above, hairy beneath,
on fhort footftalks. Common footftalk fomewhat winged, and ter-
minated by a fmgle leafit. Flowers often dioicous, numerous, fmall,
white, placed in large branched fpikes. Calyx live toothed, erect,
periiftent, placed below the germen. Corolla of five petals, which
are ovate, white, moftly erect. Filaments five, very fhort. Antherse
fmall. Germen roundifh, about the length of the corolla. Style
fcarcely vifible. Stigmata three, fomewhat cordate. Fruit a roundilh
one-celled red berry, containing a folitary round hard feed.
This fpecies of Sumach is a native of the South of Europe, and
appears from the Catalogus horti Oxonienfis to have been cultivated in
that garden previous to the year 1648, though it is ftill a fcarce plant
in this country.
The genus, to which this fpecies belongs, comprehends feveral
fpecies which are known to be extremely poifonous, efpecially the
Rhus Toxicodendron, radicans, and Vernix; but the Coriaria is
■ perfectly"
( »3> )
perfectly innocent, and its berries are in Tome places ufed for culinary
purpofes.
Its medicinal qualities are wholly to be afcribed to its ftypticity or
afh'ingency : a property which it porTeffes in a fufficient degree to
render it ufeful in dyeing, and alfo in tanning of leather, for which
it was ufed in the time of Diofcorides.
Both the leaves and berries have been employed in medicine, but
the former are more aftringent and tonic, and have been long in
common ufe in various complaints indicating this clafs of remedies.
The berries, which are red and of a roundifh compreffed figure,
contain a pulpy matter, in -which is lodged a brown hard oval feed,,
manifefting a confiderable degree of aftringency. The pulp, even
when dry, is gratefully acid, and has been difcovered to contain an
effential fait a fnnilar to that of wood-forrel, or perhaps more nearly
allied to cryftals of tartar.
An infufion of the dry fruit is not rendered black by a folution of
iron ; hence it appears to be deftitute of aftringency : but its acidity
is extremely grateful, which has caufed the tree to be called by the
French le Vinaigrier. Therefore like many other acid fummer fruits
thefe berries b may be advantageoully taken to allay febrile heat, and
to correct bilious putrefcency.
Lately the Rhus Toxicodendron and radicans have been recom-
mended in paralytic affections ; the latter by Monf. Frefnoi, and the
former by Dr. Aldeifon,c of Hull ; but the cafes in which thefe
virulent plants were employed are but few and indeciiive.
* See Trommfdorff in Acl. Mogunt. 1778-9. Co?nment. Che?n. p. 25-
b In eaftern countries they are commonly ufed as a pickle.
c See an EJJay on the Rhus Toxicodendron.
The medicinal plants of this order not figured in Medical Botany,
are,
Systematic Names. Officinal. English.
Rhamnus Frangula Frangula Berry-bearing Alder.
Rhamnus Zizyphus Jujuba Shining- leav'd Rhamnus.
Ilex aquifoJium Aquifolium Com Jon Hotly.,
rot: AC EM.
( i3* )
R 0 T A C E M.
GENTIANA PURPUREA. PURPLE GENTIAN.
• — 1 — —
S TNO NTMA. Curfuta. Pbarm. Fdlnb. Gentiana major pur-
purea. Batik Pin. 187. Gentiana major flore purpureo. Flor.
Dan. t. 50. Gentiana corollis campaniformibus verticillatis, foliis
imis petiolatis ellipticis. Hall. Helv. Gentiana purpurea. Ait.
Hort. Kew. Jacquin. Obf. 2. t. 39. '
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen.- Plant. 322.
Gen. Cb. Cor. monopetala. Caps. 2-valvis, i-locularis: Receptaculis
2, longitudinalibus.
Sp. Cb. G. corollis fubquinquefidis campanulatis verticillatis, caly-
cibus truncatis.
ROOT perennial, cylindrical, flender, branched ; externally
brown, internally yellowifh. Stem erecT:, fimple, fmooth, ftrong,
fucculent, lifing to a foot in height. Lower leaves nearly elliptical,
ribbed, entire. Upper leaves in pairs, fheath-like, concave, embracing
the ftem, pointed, ribbed, enclofing the flowers. Flowers large,
purple, ftanding in whorls, upon fhort peduncles. Calyx a deciduous
fpatha. Corolla bell-fhaped, purplifh, plicated, divided at the limb
into five ovate dotted fegments. Filaments commonly five, of the
length of the germen, and furnifhed with conical antherse. Germen
oblong. Style cleft, points reflexed, furnifhed with blunt ftigmata.
Capfule ovate, two-celled, containing numerous fmall feeds.
It is a native of the Alps, and was firft introduced for cultivation
in this country by ProfefTor de Sauflure in 1768."
8 See Hort. Kew. u p. 322.
The
/ . 17 ft .
( *33 )
The annexed plate is Z'^jl on tne authority of the Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeia, in which the Curfuta, or root of this plant, has been
lately received into the Materia Medica.
This root, both in appearance and tafte, fo exactly refembles that
of the yellow or common officinal Gentian, that they are not to be
diftinguifhed from each other; and in fome northern countries, where
the latter is fcarce, the former is ufually employed in its ftead.b
Its medical character is therefore to be regarded as the fame with
that of the gentiana lutea, of which an account is given in Medical
Botany, p. 433.
* See Linn. Flor. Suec. & Halkr. I. c.
The remaining medicinal plants of the order Rotacea?, are,
English..
Pimpernel
Money-wort
Cowflip
Common Cyclamen;
Systematic Names.
Anagallis arvenfis
Lyfimachia Nummularia
Primula veris
Cyclamen europseum
Officinal.
Anagallis
Nummularia
Paralyfis
Cyclamen
No. 1 r. — Part II
2 L
RHOEADES..
( *34 )
R H O E AD E S.
CHELIDONIUM MAJUS. GREATER, or COMMON
CELANDINE.
S TNO NTMA. Chelidonium majus. Pharm. Geoff, in. 309.
Dale. 210. Alflon. i. 407. Lewis. 224. Edinb. New Difpe?if.
170. Murray, ii. 300. Bergius. 451,. Ger.Emae.io6g. Rati.
Bijl. 858. Synop. 309. H^//. Helv. n. 1059. Chelidonium
majus vulgare. Banh. Pin. 144. F^. Tbeat. 616. C. majus.
Ang. 228. Wittering. Bot. Arr. 547. jF/of. 542.
Polyandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 647.
Gen. Ch, Cor. 4-petala. Cal. 2-phyllus. Siliqua i-locularis, linearis.
Sp. Ch. C. pedunculis umbellatis.
ROOT perennial, tapering, branched, externally brown, internally
yellow. Stalks erect, cylindrical, branched, fomewhat hairy, from
one to two feet in height. Leaves pinnated, terminal leafit large, and
often lobed ; pinnse roundifh, with deeply fcolloped edges. Flowers
yellow, in fmall umbels, upon long hairy footftalks. Calyx con-
fining of two ovate, entire, hairy, deciduous leaves. Corolla of four
petals, which are circular, large, fpreading, narrow at the bafe. Fila-
ments from twenty to thirty, compreffed, tapering, fhorter than the
corolla. Antherae double, oblong, flattifh. Germen cylindrical, long,
bent. Stigma blunt. Pod long, valved, fomewhat tapering at each
end, containing feveral oval mining feeds attached to the receptacle,
which is placed at the junction of the valves.
It grows in hedges, or rough uncultivated places, flowering in moft
of the fummer months.
" The leaves and roots of Celandine have a faint unpleafant fmell,
and a bitterilh very acrid and very durable tafte, which is confiderably
ftronger in the roots than in the leaves. Both water and rectified
lpint
m/j/ArJ(r B*BS*t>&b ■ '-'79* ■
( 13S )
fpirit extras nearly the whole of their pungent matter : the leaves,
notwithftanding the yellow juice which iflues fo plentifully from a
flight wound, and in which their activity feems to refide,give to rectified
fpirit a green tincture: the roots,, which yield a copious faffron red
juice, tinge the fame menftruum of a brownifh yellow."
" The pungency of this plant is not of the volatile kind, little or
nothing of it rifing in diftillation with water any more than with
fpirit : it is neverthelefs greatly abated by drying the plant itfelf, or
by infpiffating with a gentle heat the fpirituous or watery infufions."*
This acrid plant has been much recommended in the general
character of an aperient and attenuant. In jaundice it was long
confidered as the moft effectual remedy that could be employed, as
appears from the writings of Diofcorides, Galen, Foreftus, and other
authors of more recent date ; hence it was a principal ingredient in
the deco&nm ad iEtericos in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia.. Nor has
its ufe been confined to hepatic obftructions ; in thofe of the other
vifcera, as well as in the mefenteric and lymphatic glands, it is faid to
have been equally efficacious. b
It has alfo been fuccefsfully employed as an expectorant ; and
feveral writers found it of great efficacy in curing intermittent^. 0 It
has been adminiftered in various forms and dofes. Half a dram, or
a dram of the dry root in powder, or an infufion in wine or water
of a dram, or a dram and an half, of the frefh root, or three or four
drops of its yellow juice in any convenient vehicle, are directed for
a dofe. We have little doubt but that the virtues of Celandine have
been greatly exaggerated, and its general employment in jaundice
feems to have originated in the abfurd doctrine of lignatures: in certain
cafes however we fhould expect to find it an ufeful remedy, for it
evidently poffeffes active powers ; and thus it is externally ufed to
deftroy warts, clean foul ulcers, and remove opacities of the cornea.
a Lewis. 1. c.
b Lange. De Med. Brunf. p. 124. c See Murray. 1. c.
This plant, and the two fpecies of papaver, figured in the firft
part of Medical Botany, are all the medicinal plants belonging to
this natural order.
BICORNES.
( )
B I C 0 RN E S.
SANTALUM ALBUM. WHITE or YELLOW SAUNDERS.
STNONTMA. Santalum citrinum. Pbarm. Edinb. Park,
^heat. 1604. Rail Hlft. 1804. Santalum pallidum. Bauh.Pin.
392. Ger. Emac. 1586. Sandalum. Rumph. Herb. Amb. Tom.
1. p. 42. /. 11. Breyn. Icon, et Defcript. p. 19. t. $.f. u
Tetrandria Monogynia. Schr. Gen. Plant. 215.
Gen, Ch. Cor. fubinfundibulif. 4-fida ftaminifera : glandulis 4,
ftaminibus alternantibus. Drupa rotunda monofperma. Woodv*
A LARGE tree, covered with reddifh brown bark. Leaves
ovate, fomewhat lanceolate, entire, pointed, fmooth, oppofite, on
footftalks. Flowers numerous, purple, terminating the younger
branches in compound fpikes. Calyx fmall, four-toothed, deciduous.
Corolla monopetalous, confifting of a fhort ovate tube, divided at
the limb into four Iharp teeth. Filaments four, fhort, hairy, placed
at the mouth of the tube, and furnilhed with large antherae : between
each filament ftands a glandular nectarium, crenated at the top. Ger-
men ovate. Style tapering, of the length of the tube of the corolla.
Stigma four-parted. Fruit drupaceous, round, containing a hard
feed or ftone.
It is a native of the Eaft Indies, efpecially of the Ifland of Timor,
and has not yet been cultivated in this country. The plate of it
here prefixed is taken from a fpecimen in the poffeffion of Sir Jofeph
Banks.
From
( i37 )
From the {triicture of the flower of the Santalum, as here de-
lineated, and from the defcription of it which is given above, it does
not appear to have been fufficiently .underftood by any of the bota-
nifts, who have hitherto defcribed it; fo that we have been under the
necemty of affigning to this genus a new effential character.*
The four glands, placed within the corolla, were probably miftaken
for ftamina, which induced Linnaeus at firft to clafs the Santalum
among the octandria.
In the laft edition of the Syjlcma Vegetabilium this error is cor-
rected, and had nothing more been done, the character would have '
remained tolerably complete; but unfortunately Cor. i-petala was
changed to 4-petala ; and thus a new error was introduced, which
we hope will in future be adjufted.
White Saunders wood is of a pale white, often with a yellowifh.
tinge ; and being deftitute of tafte or odour, it is iuperfeded by
the Santalum trinum, which is of a brownifh yellow colour, of a
bitterifh aromatic tafte, and of a pleafant fmell, approaching to that
of the rofe.
Both kinds are brought from the Eaft Indies in billets, confifting
of large thick pieces, which, according to Rumphius, are fometimes
taken from the fame, and fometimes from different trees. For though
the white and the yellow Saunders are the wood of the fame fpecies
of tree, yet the latter, which forms the central part of the tree, is
not always to be found in fufficient quantity to repay the trouble
and expence of procuring it, efpecially unlefs the trees be old; while
the white, which is the exterior part of the wood, is always more
abundant, and is confequently much cheaper.
" Yellow Saunders, diftilled with water, yields a fragrant effential
oil, which thickens in the cold into the confidence of a balfam,
approaching in fmell to ambergris, or a mixture of ambergris and
rofes : the remaining decoction, infpiffated to the coniiftence of an
extract, is bitterifh and flightly pungent. Rectified fpirit extracts by
digeftion confiderably more than water : the colour of the tincture is
9 Refpecting the calyx we are unable to fpeak decidedly from our own obfervation.
No, 11. — Part II
2 M
a rich
( i3« )
a rich yellow. The fpirit, diftilled off, is flightly impregnated with
the fine flavour of the wood ; the remaining brownifh extract has
a weak fmell, and a moderate balfaraic pungency." b
The wood is chiefly valued on account of its fragrance ; hence
the Chinefe are faid to fumigate their clothes with it, and to burn it
in their temples in honour of their gods. Though flill retained in the
Materia Medica of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, it cannot be thought
to poflcfs any confiderable mare of medicinal power. Hoffman cor\-
fiders its virtues as fimilar to thofe of ambergris ; and fome others
have efleemed it in the character of a corroborant and reftorative.
b Lewis. M. M. p. 578.
Other medicinal plants of the order Bicornes, which have not
been noticed in this work, are,
Systematic Names.
Vaccinium Vitis idaea
Oxvcoccos
. . Myrtillus
Ledum paluftre
Pyroiu rotundifolia
Lawfonia inermis
Tamarix gallica
Officinal.
English.
Vitls idaea Red Bilberry
Oxycoccos Cranberry
Myrtillus Blea-berry
Rofmarinius fylveftris Wild Rofemary
Pyrola Winter-green
Alicanna vera Smooth Lawfonia
Tamarifcus French Tamarilk
XI M BEL LA TJE.
rM^th ■
( J39 )
U MB ELLA TJE.
ANGELICA SYLVESTRIS. WILD ANGELICA.
SYNONYMA. Angelica fylveftris. Pbarm. Edinb. Ger. Emac.
999. Raii. Hi/I. 437. Synop. 208. Park. Tbeat. 940. Ange-
lica fylveftris major. Banh. Pin. 155. A. fylveftris. Hudf. Flor.
A?ig. 118. Withering. Bot. Arr. 290. Hall. Helv. n. 806. Flor.
Dan. i. 178.
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 347.
Gen. Cb, Frnclus fubrotundus angulatus folidus, ftylis reflexis.
Corolla scquales, petalis incurvis.
Sp. Cb. A. foliolis sequalibus ovato-lanceolatis ferratis.
ROOT perennial, long, thick, tapering, branched, externally
brown, internally ' white. Stalk thick, hollow, jointed, fcored,
branched, round, fmooth, feveral feet in height. Leaves pinnated,
compofed of ovate ferrated equal pinnse, with an odd one at the end.
Leaf-ftalks channelled' on the upper furface, (landing upon a large
membranous fheath inclofing the ftem. Flowers white, in large
umbels, which are convex, and placed . on long ftalks arifing from
the fheaths of the leaf-ftalks. General involucrum moft commonly
wanting, or fometimes compofed of fmall llender leaves. Partial
involucrum, coniifting of from five to twelve permanent narrow
pointed unequal leaves. Corolla of five petals, which are nearly
equal, ovate, pointed, bent inwards. Filaments five, fpreading,
longer than the petals. Antherse roundifh; Germen beneath. Styles
two, bent^ downwards. Stigmata blunt. Fruit furnifhed with four
winged appendages, and on each fide three ftriae. Seeds two, egg-
fhaped,
( !4° )
fhaped, plano-convex, with a membranaceous border, convex fide,
marked with three ridges.
It grows in marfliy woods and hedges, flowering in June and July.
As the root of this fpecies of Angelica is ftill retained in the
catalogue of the Materia Medica of the Edinburgh Pharmaco'pceia,
wre have judged it expedient to prefent a figure of the plant ; and it
is only in compliance with this authority that we have been induced
to do fo : for the garden Angelica, of which a plate is given in the
firft volume of Medical Botany, not only pofTerTes all the medicinal
properties of this fpecies in a fuperior degree, but may always be more
readily procured.
PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM. FINE LEAVED
WATER-HEMLOCK.
STNONTMA. Fceniculum aquaticum. P harm. Murray. App.
Med. L p. 267. Rivin. Pent, tab/65. Ernjlingii Phellandrolo*
gia. Lange, vom Wajferfenchel. 1771. Cicutaria paluftris tenui-
folia. Bauh. Pin. 161. Park. 933. Cicutaria paluftris. Ger.
Emac. 1063. Ray. Hi/I. 452. Synop. 215. Petiv, t. 28./. 4.
Hall. n. 757. P. aquaticum. Hud/on. - Flor. Aug. 122. Light/,
Flor. Scot. 163. Withering. Bot, Arr. 298.
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 353.
Gin. Ch. Flofculi difci minores. Fruclus ovatus tevis coronatus
perianthio et piftillo.
Sp. Ch. P. foliorum ramificationibus divaricatis.
ROOT
266
( Hi )
ROOT biennial, thick, tapering, jointed, fending off numerous
long {lender fibres. Stalk thick, hollow, fmooth, jointed, branched,
fcored, ufually about two feet in height. Leaves large, triply pin-
nated, ramifying at right angles, or divaricating; leafits irregularly
pinnatifid ; leaves under the water filiform. Flowers fmall, white,
in terminal umbels. General involucrum none. Partial involucrum
of feven leaves, which are pointed, and about the length of the
proper umbel. Calyx five-toothed, permanent. Flowers all fertile,
and forming a flat uniform furface. Individual florets unequal, fmaller
at the centre. Petals five, heart-fhaped, bent inwards. Filaments
five, capillary longer than the petals. Anthers roundifh. Germen
ovate. Styles two, tapering, upright, permanent. Stigmata blunt.
Fruit ovate, fmooth, divifible into two parts or feeds.
It grows in rivers, ditches, and pools, flowering in" June and
July.
This plant is generally fuppofed to pofTefs deleterious qualities.
Horfes, on eating it, are faid to become paralytic; but this effecl: mould
not be afcribed to the Phellandrium, but to an infed; which refidcs
within its ftalks, viz. the Ciircalio parapleEticus.
The feeds of the plaut, however, according to Dr. Lange,3 when,
taken in large dofes, produce a remarkable fenfation of weight in the
head, accompanied with giddinefs, intoxication, &c. and therefore
may be deemed capable of proving an adtive medicine. They are
oblong, ftriated, of a greenifh yellow, about the lize of thofe of dill,
and manifefting an aromatic acrid tafte^ approaching nearly to that of,
the feeds of lovage. Diftilled with water they yield an efTential oil,
of a pale yellow colour, and of a ffrong penetrating fmell. One
pound of the feeds affords an ounce of watery exfracl:, but nearly
double this quantity of fpirituous extract, of which more than thre<
drams- confifts of refin.b
Pliny c ftates the feeds of Phellandrium to be an efficacious rfiedi-
cine in calculous complaints, and diforders of the bladder ; and in
this opinion he is followed by Dodonreus,d who mentions them alio
as poffeffing diuretic and emmenagogue powers. But on tbefe autho-
a See Rem. Brunf. 235. b Ernjlhigius^ I. c. c Lib. 17. c. 13, d Pempt, 591.
No. 12.— Part II. 2N rities
( 142 )
rities little reliance is to be placed ; fo that the efficacy of this plant
refts chiefly on the teftimonies of Ernftingius and Lange, by whom
various cafes of its fuccefsful ufe are pubiifhed, efpecially in wounds
and inveterate ulcers of different kinds, and even in cancers ;c alfo in
phthifis pulmonalis, afthma, dyfpepfia, intermittent fevers, &c.
About two fcruples of the feed, two or three times a day, was the
ordinary dofe given.
Though the diforders here noticed are fo multifarious and diffi-
milar as to afford no fatisfattory evidence of the medicinal qualities of
thefe feeds, yet they appear to us well deferving of farther invef-
tigation, according to the maxim ' Ubi virus ibi virtus.'1
e Boerhaave alfo fpeaks highly of its difcutient power in all kinds of tumours. Hijl.
Plant. Hort. Ludg, Bat. i. p. 94.
OENANTHE CROCATA. HEMLOCK WATER-DROPWORT.
STNONTMA. Oenanthe Chaerophylli foliis. Baub. Pin. 162.
Filipcndula cieutse facie. Ger. Emac. 1057. Oenanthe, fucco virofo,
cicutce facie Lobelii. Bauh. Hift. Hi. 193. Park. Theat. 894.
Raii. Synop. 210. Morris. Seel. 9. tab. 9. Wat/on. Phil. Tranf.
j)j 44. 7i. 480. tab. 3. Oenanthe crocata. Hudf. F lor. Aug. 121.
Withering. Bot. Arr. 297. Lightfoot, Flor. Scot. 162. Ic. Jacquin.
Hort. Hi. t. 55.
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 352.
Gen. Ch. Flofculi difformes : in difco feffiles, fteriles. FruBus calyce
et piftillo coronatus.
Bp. Ch. CE. foliis omnibus multifidis obtufis fubsequalibus.
ROOT perennial, divided into numerous parts, or oblong tuber-
cles, furnifhed with long flender fibres. Stalks erect, channelled,
round, fmooth, branched, of a yellowilh red colour, two or three
feet
( r43 )
Feet in height. Leaves {imply and doubly pinnated ; fmaller pinna?
wedge-fhaped, fmooth, ftreaked, jagged at the edges : larger pinna?
three-lobed, indented, refembling thole of fmallage. Flowers in umbels,
which are terminal, fpreading, and almoft globular. General invo-
lucrum none. Partial involucrum compofed of many fmall leaves.
Calyx permanent, five-toothed. Florets unequal, thofe at the circum-
ference often fterile. Petals five, heart-fhaped, broad, bent inwards,
emarginated. Filaments five, (lender, tapering, twice the length of
the petals. Antherae oblong, brown. Germen beneath the corolla.
Styles two, awl-fhaped, reddiih, permanent. Stigmata pointed. Fruit
oblong, ftriated, divifible into two parts or feeds, which are convex
on one fide, and flat on the other.
It grows on the banks of rivers, and in ditches, flowering in June
and July.
We have fele&ed this plant, to record it as a powerful poifon, rather
than as medicine. Its root, which is not unpleafant to the tafte, is,
by Dr. Poultney, efteemed to be the moft deleterious of all the vege-
tables which this country produces.
Mr. Howell, furgeon at Haverfordweft, relates, that " eleven
" French prifoners had the liberty of walking in and about the town
" of Pembroke ; three of them, being in the fields a little before noon,
" dug up a large quantity of this plant, which they took to be wild
" celery, to eat with their bread and butter for dinner. After warning
" it, they all three ate or rather tafted of the roots. As they were
" entering the town, without any previous notice of ficknefs at the
" ftomach, or diforder in the head, one of them was feized with
" convulfions. The other two ran home, and fent a furgeon to him.
" The furgeon endeavoured firft to bleed, and then to vomit him ; but
" thpfe endeavours were fruitlefs, and he died preferitly. Ignorant
** of the caufe of their comrade's death, and of their own danger,
" they gave of thefe roots to the other eight prifoners, who all ate
" fome of them with their dinner. A few minutes afterwards the
" remaining two, who gathered the plants, were feized in the fame
" manner as the firft ; of which one died j the other was bled, and
" a vomit, with great difficulty forced down, on account of his jaws
" being as it were locked together. This operated, and he recovered,
" but was fometime affected with dizzinefs in his head, though not
" fick
( 144 )
" fick or the leaft difordered in his ftomach. The other eight being
" bled and vomited immediately, were foon well." a
At Clonmel, in Ireland, eight boys miftaking this plant for water-
parfnep, ate plentifully of its roots : about four or five hours after,
the elded boy became fuddenly convulfed, and died ; and before the
next morning four of the other boys died in a fimilar manner. Of
the other three, one was maniacal leveral hours, another loft his hair
and nails, but the third efcaped unhurt. b
Stalpaart vander Wiel mentions two cafes of the fatal effects of
this root ; thefe, however, were attended with great heat in the
throat and ftomach, ficknefs, vertigo, and purging. They both
died in the courfe of two or three hours after eatinp- the root.
o
Allen, in his Synopjis Medicina^ alfo relates that four children
fuffered greatly by eating this poifon. In thefe- cafes great agony was
experienced before the convulfions fupervened j vomitings likewife
came on, which were encouraged by large draughts of oil and warm
water, to which their recovery is afcribed.
The late Sir William Watfon,c who refers to the inftances here
cited, alfo fays that a Dutchman was poifoned by the leaves of the
plant boiled in pottage.
It appears from various authorities that moft- brute animals are not
lefs affected by this poifon than man ; and Mr. Lightfoot informs us that
a fpoonful of the juice of this plant, given to a dog, rendered him fick..
and ftupid ; but a goat was obferved to eat the. plant with impunity.
The great virulence of this plant has not however prevented it
from being taken medicinally. In a letter from Dr. Poultney to Sir
William Watfon,d we are told that a fevere and inveterate cutaneous
diforder was cured by the juice of the root, though not without
exciting the moft alarming fymptoms. Taken in the dofe of a
fpoonful, in two hours afterwards the head was affected in a very
extraordinary manner, followed with violent ficknefs and vomiting,
cold fweats and rigors ; but this did not deter the patient from con-
tinuing the medicine, in fomewhat lefs dofes, till it effected a cure.
a Phil. Tranf, vol. 44. b Ibid. 1. c.
c Sir William likewife inform us, that Mr.- Miller knew a whole family at Batterfea, who
were poifoned with this plant. And that Mr. Ehret, while drawing the frefli plant, was affefted
with univerfal uneafinefs and vertigd. d Phil. Tranf. vol. 62.
CICUTA VIROSA.
( *45 )
CICUTA VIROSA. WATER HEMLOCK,
STNONTMA. Cicuta aquatica. Pharm. Murray, i. 2 71. Bergius.
212. Wepfer. Hijl. Cicuta Aquat. p. 4. Sium alterum olufatri
facie. Lobel. Ic. 208. Ger. Emac. 256. Ray. Hijl. 450. Synop,
212. Sium erucse folio. Bauh. Pin.15^. Sium majus angufti-
folium. Park. Theat. 1241. Conf. Phil. Tranf. v. 44. 242. tab. 4.
Hall. n. 781. Flor. Dan. 208. Cicuta virofa. Hudf, Flor. Ang„
122. Lightfoot. Scot. 164. With. Bot. Arr. 299.
Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 354.
Gen. Ch. Fruclus fubovatus, fulcatus.
Sp. Ch. C. umbellis oppofitifoliis, petiolis marginatis obtufis.
ROOT perennial, thick, (hort, hollow, befet at the joints with
numerous (lender fibres. Stalk thick, round, fiftulaiyftriated, fmooth,
fparingly branched, about four feet in height. Leaves pinnated,
leafits ufually placed in ternaries, fpear-fhaped, ferrated ; ferratures
white at the points. Flowers in large expanding umbels. Partial
involucrum compofed of leveral fhort briftle-fhaped leaves. Calyx
fcarcely difcernible. Florets all uniform, fertile, each confiding of
five petals, which are ovate, turned inwards, of a greenim white.
Filaments five, capillary, longer than the petals. Antherse fimpie,
purplifh. Styles two, at firft clofe, afterwards divaricating. Stigmata
limple. Fruit egg-fhaped, divifible into two feeds, which are ribbed
and convex on one fide, and flat on the other.
It grows on the borders of pools and rivers, flowering in July and
Auguft.
This plant, which in its recent ftate has a fmell refembling that of
fmallage, and a tafte fomewhat like that of parfley, is well known to
be a powerful poifon. Haller fuppofes it to be the Km,w of Diolccrides ;
but whether it is the Athenian cicuta, or the plant of which the
No. 12. — Part II. 2 O poifonous
( 146 )
poifonous potion of the Greeks was compofed, cannot poflibly be
afcertained.
The root has a ftrong fmell, and a warm fomewhat acrid tafte ; by
diftillation with water it yields a volatile matter, which is of a narcotic
quality, and of a very ungrateful odour.
It appears from Bergius, that Water-Hemlock, in its dried ftate,
may be taken in a confiderable quantity without producing any bad
effect ;a but of the fatal effects of its root when frefh, numerous
inftances are recorded. Of two boys and fix girls, who ate of this
root for that of parfnep, the greater part died in a fhort time after-
wards, thofe only efcaping who were enabled to difcharge it by
vomiting. The fymptoms it produced were intoxication, vertigo,
great heat and pain in the ftomach, convulfions, and even epilepfy,
diftortions of the eyes, vomiting or retching, a difcharge of blood
from the ears, fwelling of the abdomen, hiccup, fpafms, &c.b In the
cafe of a man who had eaten of this poifonous root, w| are told the
fymptoms were vertigo, fucceeded by delirium, with conftant heat
at the ftomach, and inextinguifhable thirft : thefe fymptoms were of
long continuance, and followed by an erysipelatous tumour of the
neck.d
To cite all the inftances related of the deleterious effects of this
root would be unneceffary, as thofe here ftated from Wepfer will
fufficiently fhow the train of fymptoms which ufually follow the
taking of this poifon. It may be obferved however that in moft of
the cafes in which it proved fatal, the patients died in a convulfcd or
epileptic ftate, and that whenever the root was rejected by vomiting,
only a flight degree of ftupefaction was for a few hours experienced/
a Recentem cicutam nunquam adhibui ; pilulas vero e fucco cicutae expreflb & in-
fpiflato, cum pulvere foliorum formatas, dedi fceminae, cancro vero mammarum labo-
ranti, incipiendo a parca dofi, fenfim adfcendendo ad dracm. 3. quotidie; fed nullum
effeclum inde fenfit, neque bonum, nec malum. Praefcripfi famulo cuidam deco£t.
faturat. herbse cicutas ficcatse libr. 4. quod externe adhiberet, fed per errorem intra
binas horas totam ebibit lagunculam, abfque ullo tamen infequente damno." Fide I. c,
b Wepfer. I. c. d SeeEpb. Nat. Cur. Cent. 10. Olf. 58. p. 355.
* See Brefl. Samml. 1722. p. 286. Schwencke gives an account of four boys who
had the misfortune to eat this root, three of whom died in convulfions > the other was
faved by the timely adminiftration of an emetic.
On
( H7 )
On examination of the bodies of thofe who perifhed by eating
this root, we are told that the ftomach and interlines were discovered
to be inflamed, and even in a gangrenous or eroded ftate, and the
blood- veflels of the brain much diftended/
To feveral brutes this plant has likewife proved mortal ; but the
facts upon this point are fomewhat vague and various. Though faid
to be a fatal poifon to cows, it is eaten with impunity by goats and
fheep.s
As an internal medicine the Cicuta aquatica is univerfally fuperfeded
by the common hemlock ; but externally employed in the way of a
poultice, it is faid to afford relief in various fixed pains, efpecially
thoTe of the rheumatic and arthritic kind.
f Vide Wepfer, Schweneke, Brejl. Samml. 1722. p. 286. Eph. Nat. Cur. Dec, 2.
a, 6. p. 321.
s videre licet pinguefcere faepe cicuta
Barbigeras pecudes, hominique eft acre venenum.
Lucret.
Other medicinal plants of this Order, are
Systematic Names.
Sanicula europaea
Tordylium officinale
Athamanta ere ten (is
Athamanta Oreofelinum
Peucedanum officinale
Laferpitium latifolium
Laferpitium Siler
Heracleum Sphondylium
Sium Ninii
Sifon Ammi
Bubon macedonicum
Aethufa Meum
Scandix Cerefolium
Chaerophyllum fylveftre
Sefeli tortuofum
Paftinaca fativa
Apium graveolens
Bupleurum rotundifolium
Officinal.
Sanicula
Sefeli creticum
Daucus creticus
Oreofelinum
Peucedanum
Gentiana alba
Siler montanum
Branca urfina
Ninfi
Ammi verum
Petrofelinum macedon.
Meu
Cerefolium
Cicutaria
Sefeli maffilienfe
Paftinaca
Apium
Perfoliata
ENGLISH;.
Common Sanicle
Hartwort
Cretan Spignel
Divaricated Spignel
Sulphur- wort
Broad leav'd Lafler-wort
Mountain Lafler-wort
Cow Parfnep
Baftard Ginfeng
True Bifhopfweed
Macedonian Parfley
Common Spignel
Chervil
Common Cow-weed
Hard Meadow Saxifrage
Garden Parfnep
Smallage
Thorow-wax.
GALUM
( 148 )
STELLA1M.
" if *
GALIUM APARINE. CLEAVERS, or GOOSE GRASS.
STNONTMA. Aparine. Pharm. Murray, w.24. Dale. 133. Rutty.
321. Aparine vulgaris. BauhPin. 334. Aparine. Ger.Emac. 1 122.
JW\ 567. 225. Galium caule ferrato, foliis
fenis linearibus lanceolatis ferratis, petiolis unirloris. ifii//. Hift.
Stirp. Hclv. n. 723. Galium Aparine. Scop. Fl. Cam. n. 157.
Hudfon. Flor. Aug. 57. Withering. Bot. Arr. 157, Lightfoot. Flor.
Scot. 1 1 7. JFVor. 2)<3^. 495. Curt. Flor. Lond.
Tetrandria Monogynia. Liu. Gen. Plant. 125.
Gen. Ch. Cor. i-petala, plana. Sem. 2, fubrotunda.
Sp. Ch. G. foliis o&onis lanceolatis carinatis fcabris retrorfum acu-
leatis, geniculis villofis, fructu hifpido.
ROOT branched, fibrous, annual. Stalk quadrangular, three or
four feet in height, weak, climbing, jointed branched : angles befet
with fhort prickles, which are bent backwards, and faflen hold of
neighbouring plants. Leaves ftanding at the joints of . 1 ftalk
fix or eight together, lanceolate, narrow, finely pointed, on the upper
fide rough,' with fharp prickles. Flowers imall, white, on rough
footftalks. Calyx none. Corolla very fmall, wheel-maped, divided
into four oval pointed fegments. Filaments four, white, fhorter than
the corolla. Antherae yellow. Gerrnen below the cor Ua, double,
rough. Styles two, Ihort. Stigmata globular. F it two dry
roundifh berries, flightly adhering together, covered with hooked
prickles. Seeds folitary, kidney-fhaped.
It is common in cultivated ground and hedges, producing its
flowers from June till September.
This
( H9 )
This lucculent plant is deftitute of odour, but to the tafte it is
bitterifh, and fomewhat acrid. Diofcorides a fpeaks of an ointment
made of the bruifed herb, mixed with lard, as an ufeful application
to difcufs ftrumous fwellings ; and Gafpari,b an Italian, adopted a
fimilar practice with great fuccefs. He alfo informs us, that a decoc-
tion of the plant, employed in the way of fomentation, was found
to be very efficacious in fwellings of the glands of the neck, which
followed a certain epidemic at Verona. Dr. Cullen, however, relates
that he tried the Aparine in fome glandular indurations, but without
deriving any advantage.0
It is faid by Mayerne, that three ounces of the juice of the plant,,
taken twice a day in wine, were experienced to be an ufeful aperient
and diuretic in incipient droplies. But the character in which the
Aparine has of late been chiefly efteemed, is that of an antifcorbutic ; .
for this purpofe, a tea-cupful of its expreffed juice is to be taken
every morning for nine or ten days. When the frefh plant cannot
be procured, it may be ufed in a dried ftate as tea.d
Other fpecies of Galium have bed ufed for the purpofes of medi-
cine,, efpecially the G. verum, or yellow lady's bed-ftraw, the flowers
of which have been recommended in hyfteric and epileptic complaints.
It has been aflerted, that thefe flowers contain an acid, which coagu-
lates milk ; but neither Bergius, Cullen, nor Youngs obferved this
effect from them, after repeated trials.
a M. M. Lib. 3. cap. 104.
fc See OJfervazioni Storiche, Mediche, &"c. 1731. p. ij.
c M. M. vol. 2. p. 37.
d See Med. & Philof. Commentaries, vol. 5. p. 326. Alfo Edward's Treatife on the
Goofe-grafs-y or Clivers, and its efficacy in the cure of the mojl inveterate Scurvy.
Other medicinal plants of this Order, are
Systematic Names.
Galium verum
Galium Mollugo
Afperula odorata
No. 12.— Part II.
Officinal.
Galium luteum
Galium album
Matrifylva !
2 P
English. -
Yellow Ladies bedftraw '
White ditto
Sweet Woodroof
CONGLOMERATE.-
1
( 150 )
CONGLOMERATE.
VISCUM ALBUM. MISSELTOE.
SYNONYM J. Vifcus. Pharm. Dale. 313. Alflon. it. 53.
Lewis. 666. Edinb. New Difpenf. 302. Cullen.ii, 47. Murray,
i. 199. Bergius. 788. Ger. 153. 464. /7y?.
1583. Vifcura baccis albis. Bauh. Pin. ^1$. Vifcum vulgare.
P^r/j. 77^/. 1392. ». 1^.09. V. album. Hud/on. Flor.
Aug. 43 1 . Withering. Bot. Arr. 1 1 1 2 . Ic. Mill. Illujl.
Dioecia Tetrandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 11 05.
Gen. Ch. Ma sc. Col. 4-partitus. Cor. o. Filamenta o. Anthers
calyci adnata?.
Fem. Cal. 4-phyllus, fuperus. Cor. o. Stylus o.
Bacca i-fperma, Sem. cordatum.
Sj), Ch. V. foliis lanceolatis obtufis, eaule dichotomo, fpicis axillaribus.
A PARASITICAL evergreen fhrub, infinuating its radical fibres
into the wood of the trees on which it grows. Branches numerous,
regularly dichotomous, covered with fmooth bark, of a yellowifh
green colour. Leaves fpear-fhaped, blunt, entire, ftriated, Handing
in pairs upon fhort footftalks. Flowers male and female in different
plants, fmall, axillary, in clofe fpikes. Calyx of the male Jlower
divided into four ovate equal fegments. Corolla none. Filaments
none. Antheroe four, oblong, attached to the calyx. Calyx of the
female Jlower divided into four leaves, which arc fmall, ovate, deci-
duous, placed on the common germen. Corolla none. Germen
beneath, oblong, three-edged, indiftin&ly crowned with a border
with four clefts* Style none. Stigma blunt, and fomewhat notched.
Fruit
/.If// /)/
////'/vrrt/.
( IJI )
Fruit a globular white fmooth one-celled berry, containing a fiefhy
feed, which is inverfely heart-fhaped, blunt, comprelTed.
It grows on various kinds of trees, producing its flowers in May;
but its berries remain throughout the winter.
This fingular parafitical plant moft commonly grows on apple trees,
alfo on the pear, hawthorn, fervice, oak, hafel, maple, afh, lime-tree,
willow, elm, hornbeam, &c. It is fuppofed to be propagated by birds,
efpecially by the fieldfare and thrum, which feed upon its berries,
the feeds of which pafs through the bowels unchanged, and along
with the excrements adhere to the branches of trees where they
vegetate.*
The MifTeltoe of the oak, has, from the times of the antient druids
been always preferred to that produced on other trees ; but it is now
well known that the vifcus quernus differs in no refpect from others.
This plant is the of the Greeks, and was in former times thought
to polTefs many medicinal virtues ; however, we learn but little con-
cerning its efficacy from the ancient writers on the Materia Mediea;
nor will it be deemed neceffary to itate the extraordinary powers
afcribed to the MifTeltoe by the crafty defigns of druidical knavery.
<e Both the leaves and branches of the plant have very little imell,
and a very weak tafte of the naufeous kind. In diflillation they
impregnate water with their faint unpleaiant fmell, but vield no
effential oil. Extracts, made from them by water, are bitter ifh,
roughifh, and fubfaline. The fpirituous extract: of the wood has
the greateft aufterity, and that of the leaves the greateft bitternefs.
The berries abound with an extremely tenacious moft ungrateful
fweet mucilage." §
The Vifcus Quernus obtained great reputation for the cure of
epilepfy; and a cafe of this difeafe, of a woman of quality, in which
it proved remarkably fuccefsful, is mentioned by Boyle.* Some
years afterwards its ufe was ftrongly recommended in various con-
vulfive diforders by Colbach, who has related fevcral inftances of
* Or if the berries, when fully ripe, be rubbed on the fmooth bark of aim oft any
tree, they will adhere clofely and produce plants the following Winter.
§ Lewis. I. c.
• See Ufefuhiefs of Nat. ief Exper. Pbilof. 174.'
lb
( rS2 )
its good effects^ He adminiftered it in fubftanee in dbfes of half a
dram, or a dram, of the wood or leaves, or an infufion of an ounce.
This author was followed by others, who have not only given
teftimony of the efficacy of the MifTeltoe in different convulfive
affections, but alfo in thofe complaints denominated nervous, iii
which it was fuppofed to act in the character of a tonic. But all
that has been written in favour of this remedy, which is certainly
well deferving of notice, has not prevented it from falling into
general neglect ; and. the Colleges of London and Edinburgh have,
perhaps not without reafon, expunged it from their catalogues of the
Materia Medica.
* Dijprtatlon concerning the Miffeltoe^ a moji wonderful fpecifck remedy for the cure of
tonvuljive dijievvpers.
Other medicinal plants of this Order, are
Systematic Names..
Poterium Sar.guiforba
Sanguiforba officinalis
Plantago Pfyllium.
Cufcuta europzea.
Cufcuta epithymum
Officinal.
Pimpinella italica (berba)
Pimpinella italica (radix)
Pfyllium
Cufcuta
Epithymum^
Ekclish.
Common Burnet
Burnet Blood-wort
Clammy Plantain
Common Dodder
Lefibr Dodder,
IILICF&
( 153 )
F I L I C E S.
POLYPODIUM VULGARE. COMMON POLYPODY.
SYNONYM J. Polypodium. Pharm. Dale. 63. Aljlon.i. 496.
Rutty. 405. Lewis. 519. Edinb. New Difpenf, 259. Bergius.
844. Murray, v. 449. Gerard. E?nac. 1 132. 137.
Synop. 1 17. Polypodium foliis pinnatis lanceoiatis radi.ce fquamata.
iifo//. ». 1696. Polypodium vulgare. ito/^. Pitf. 359.
Park, 7 heat. 1039. Hudfon. Ang. 387. Withering. Bot. Arr.
Hi. 55. Curtis. Lond. Bolton, Fil. Brit. t. 18.
Cryptogamia Filices. Zitf. Gen. Plant. 11 79.
C£. Frutlif. in pun&is fubrotundis, fparfis per difcum frondis..
•S^. Ch. P. frondibus pinnatifidis : pinnis oblongis fubferratis obtufis,
radice fquamata.
ROOT perennial, creeping, in an horizontal direction , fomewhat
thicker than a goofe's quill, externally yellowifh, internally greenifh,
covered with brown fcales, and befet with fmall tubercles, from which
hTue numerous fibres. Stalks or ftipites fmooth, tapering, grooved on
the upper fide. Frondes or leaves from half a foot to a foot in length,
pinnated; pinna? oblong, flightly ferrated, obtufe. Capfules placed
in a row on each fide of the midrib of the leaf : they are of a roundifh
form, and granulated appearance,furnimed with footltalks,and opening
h< rizontally into two hemispheres, which are furrounded by an elaftic
ring. Seeds numerous, oval or reniform, yellow.
Tt grows on old walls, flumps and roots of trees, and various fhady
places, fructifying from June till October.
No. 13.— Part. II. 2 Q_ " The
( 154 )
" The leaves of Polypody have a weak ungrateful fmell, and a
naufeous fweet tafte, leading a kind of roughnefs and flight acrimony
in the mouth. They give out their fmell and tafte, together with a
yellow colour, both to water and rectified fpirit : the fpirituous tincture
is fweeter than the watery; but in infpiffation its fweetnefs is in great
^>art deftroyed, or covered by the other matter ; the fpirituous extract,
as Cartheuler obferves, being to the tafte only fubaftringent and fuba-
crid, with very littlc^fweetnefs, while the watery extract retains the
full fweetnefs of the polypody." a
The root of the Polypodium quercinum, or thofe that grow on the
oak, has been moft efteemed for medicinal ufe, though no juft reafon
can be afligned for this preference. By the ancients it was employed
as a purgative, and thought to be peculiarly ufeful in expelling bile
and pituitous humours ; therefore much ufed in maniacal melancho-
lical diforders ; but to act as cathartic the root muft be exhibited in
its recent ftate, and in a large dofe. Another character in which it
has been recommended, and for which from its fenfible qualities it
feems to promife more advantage, is that of a demulcent or pectoral ;
thus joined with liquorice its good effects have been experienced in
coughs and afthmatic affections.
However it is now rarely ufed in this country; nor have the French
authors, Poiflbner and Malouin,b who have cited inftances of its fuc-
cefs in mania, been able to reftore to it its antient reputation in this
calamitous diforder.
• Lewis. I c. Gmelin tried to obtain fugar from this root, but without fuccefs.
See DiJJert. Confideratio generalis filicium. p. 38.
b See Med. de V Acad, de Scien. de Paris. 1751.
ASPLENIUM
( 155 )
. ASPLENIUM SCOLOPENDRIUM. HARTS-TONGUE.
S TNO NYMA. Scolopendrium feu Lingua cervina. Pharm. Ed.
Lingua cervina officinarum. Batih. Pin. 350. Ger. Emac. 1138.
Park. Wheat. 1046. Ray. Hijl. 134. Synop. 116. Afplenium
petiolis hirfutis, folio longe lineari lanceolata, integerrimo circa
petiolum exficco. Hall. Hijl. n. 1695. Afplenium, Frondes lan-
ceolate, &c. Scop. Fl. Cam. A. Scolopendrium. Hud/on. Flor.
Ang. 384. Withering. Bot. Arr. til. 51. Ic. Bolt&n. Fil. Brit. t.
1 1 . Curt. Flor. Lond.
Cryptogamia Filices. Lin. Gen. Plant. 11 78.
Gen. Ch. Frucl'ific. in lineolis difci frondis fparfis.
Sp. Ch. A. frondibus fimplicibus cordato-lingulatis integerrimis, fti-
tibus hirfutis.
ROOT perennial, furnifhed with numerous fibres, which are brown
and fubdividing. Stipites or ftalks fimple, befet with moffy hair,
extending along the midrib. Leaves long, tongue-lhaped, pointed,
entire, fmooth, often a foot in length, of a mining yellowifh green
colour, and waved at the margin. Fructifications placed in oblique
lines on each lide of the midrib of the leaf. Involucrum a membra-
nous linear-fhaped veficle, opening longitudinally. Capfules nume-
rous, on footftalks, globular, furnifhed with an elaftic ring like thofe
of Polypodium. The feeds, which are exceedingly minute, and very
numerous, are thrown to a confiderable diftance by the veffel con-
taining them, being violently forced open by the elaftic power of
the ring.
It grows on moift fhady rocks, old walls, and at the mouths of
wells and caverns, producing its fructifications in Auguft and
September.
Be fides
( '56 )
Befides the names above-mentioned, this plant has alfo been called
hemionitis and phyllitis : it is fuppofed to poffefs medicinal qualities
in common with feveral other fpecies of the lame genus, as golden
and common maiden hair, wall-rue, and common fpleen-wort, which
were termed the five capillary herbs, and formerly held in great efti-
mation. To the tafte they are flightly aftringent, mucilaginous, and
fweetifh ; and tha<y change a folution of iron to a black colour ; their
fmell is inconfiderable, except the fcolopendrium, which, when recent,
and rubbed, manifefts a difagreeable odour.
They have been formerly ufed to Strengthen the vifcera, reftrain
haemorrhages, and alvine fluxes, expel gravel, and to open obstruc-
tions of the liver and fpleen ; as well as for the general purpofes of
demulcents and pectorals, as noticed when fpeaking of common
maidenhair, which with the prefent plant are the only two of the
five capillary herbs retained in the Materia Medica of the Edinburgh
Pharmacopoeia.
The other Medicinal Plants of this Order, are
Systematic Names.
Pteris aquilina
Adiantum capillus veneris
Afplenium Ceterach
Afplenium ruta muraria
Equifetum arvenfe
Officinal.
Filix femina
Capillus veneris
Ceterach
Ruta muraria
Equifetum
English.
Common Fern
True Maidenhair
Common Spleenvvort
Wall -rue
Corn Horfe-tail
ALGM.
■J.
C *57 )
A L G JE.
LICHEN CANINUS. ASH-COLOURED GROUND
LIVERWORT.
STNO NTMA. Lichen cinereus terreftris. Pharm. Dak. 59.
Alfton. 353. Lewis. 386. Ed. New Difpenf. 219. Murray, v.
5.24. Rail. Hi/l. 117. Synop. j6. Hall. Hi/l. n. 1988. Lichen
caninus. Hud/on. Flor. Ang. 546. Relhan. Flor. Cant. 434.
Withering. Bot. Arr. Hi. 203. 7r. Blackw. 336. DHL Hijl. Mufc.
p. 200. f. 27. /*. 102. .F/or, ZW. 767.
Cryptogamia Algae. G^/z. Plant. 1202.
G^ff. ilfo ^ c. Receptaculum fubrotundum, planiufculum, nitidtf m.
Fem. Farina foliis adfperma.
E. Co R I A C E I.
Sp. Cb. L. coriaceus repens lobatus obtufus planus: fubtus vendfus
villofus, pelta marginali adfcendente.
GROWING on the ground, confifting of creeping leaves, of a
leather-like fubftance, greenifh, or afh-coloured, and appearing as if
covered with a farinaceous fubftance, about a fpan in length, one or
two inches in breadth, widening towards their extremities, feparated
into lobes, which are fhort, blunt, fingle, or in ftrata; beneath
woolly, veined, and attached by (lender white fibres. Pelta? or
targets round or oblong, terminal, hard, folid, afcending, of a reddifti
brown colour. It grows on heaths, dry paftures, and woods.
This vegetable has a weak faint fmell, and a mucid fharpim tafte.
It was for a long time highly extolled as a medicine of fingular virtue
in preventing and curing that dreadful diforder which is produced by
No. 1 3. — Part II. 2 R the
( ij8 )
the bite of rabid animals. The pulvis antilyflus, a powder compofed
of equal parts of this lichen and black pepper/ was firft recommended
as a prefervative againft the rabies canina by Mr. Dampier, brother of
the celebrated circumnavigator of that name ; and by the authority
of Sir Hans Sloane it was publifhed in the Philofophical Tranfadtions.b
This powder was afterwards adopted in the London Pharmacopoeia in
1 72 1, at the defire of Dr. Mead, who appears to have had repeated
experience of its good effects, and who declares that he had never
known it to fail where it had been ufed, with the afTiftance of cold
bathing before the hydrophobia came on. He directs the patient to
be blooded to the extent of nine or ten ounces ; afterwards a dram
and a half of the powder is to be taken in the morning fafting in
half a pint of cow's milk warm, for four mornings fucceiTively. After
thefe four dofes are taken, the patient is directed to go into the cold
bath every morning for a month, and then three times a week for a
fortnight longer.
On the character of Mead the pulvis antilylfus was long retained
in the London Pharmacopoeia ; but on the revifion of that book in
1788 it was defervedly expunged.
a This was the original compofition ; but the quantity of pepper rendering the medi-
cine too hot, the powder was prepared of two parts of the lichen and one of pepper.
b Vol. 10. p. 49. In the Hijlory of the Royal Society we are told that a dog became
rabid, and bit feveral other dogs belonging to the Duke of York * but by the timely
adminiftration of this lichen, they were all preferved from madnefs. Vol. 492. and
vol. 3. 19.
FUNGI.
T
( 159 )
FUNGI.
BOLETUS IGNIARIUS. TOUCHWOOD BOLETUS,
Or AGARIC.
BYNONTMA. Agaricus chirurgorum. Pharm. Edinb. Agaricus
quernus. Pharm. gener. Fungus in caudicibus nafcens, unguis,
equini figura. Bauh. Pin. 372. Polyporus feffilis, convexo-pla-
nus, durifiimus, cinereus, inferne albus. Hall. Helv. n. 2288.
Rait. Synop. 22. n. 7. B. igniarius. Hud/on. Flor. Ang. 625.
Withering. Bot. Arr. Hi. 4.25. Lightfoot. Flor. Scot. 1 034. Ic. Flor.
Dan. 953. Bulliard. 82. &f 491. S chaffer. 137, 138 Battarra.
37« /
Cryptogamia Fungi. Lin. Gen. Plant. 12 10.
Gin. Ch. Fungus hon .ontalis : fubtus porofus.
* Parasitica acavles.
Sp. Ch. B. acaulis pulvinatus lseyis, poris tenuiflimis.
TU BES green, grey, red, or brownifh. Pores yellowifh, changing
to red brown, very fine. Pileus fhaped like a horfe's hoof, fmooth,
blackilh. With. I. c.
This fungus is feffile, horizontal, confifting of a very hard woody
fubftance, fhaped fomewhat like a horfe's hoof ; on the upper fide
fmooth, but marked with circular ridges of different colours : the
under fide is flat, white, or yellowifh, full of very minute pores : the
internal fubftance is fibrous, hard, tough, of a tawny brown colour.
Seeds oval, contained in the tubes.
Tubes very {lender, equal, colour of tanned leather ; in old plants
ft ratified, a frefh layer being added every year. Pileus very hard,
admitting
( i6o )
admitting of a polifh by rubbing; marked with concentric bands or
ridges, each broad ridge indicating a year's growth, and three or four
fmall ones that of the different feafons of the year, varying extremely
in colour. Flejh fibrous. Bulliard.
It grows on the trunks of trees, and varies in fize from two to
feven or eight inches in diameter.
This fungus has been fpecifically named Igniarius, from being ufed
in fome places as tinder. For this purpofe the Germans boil it in
ftrong lye, dry it, and boil it again in a folution of faltpetre.*
This Agaric has been much ufed by furgeons as an external ftyptic,
and that produced on the oak has been generally preferred. Its ufe
was firft borrowed from the French ; and it was fucceflively recom-
mended by Broffard, Morand, Bouquot, Faget, Rochard, De Mey,
who employed it not only to reftrain the bleedings in wounds, but to
prevent haemorrhages after amputations, which it is reported to have
done as effectually as the ligature. Several Englifh furgeons have
alfo publifhed cafes in which the Agaric was fuccefsfully ufed, as
Sharp, Warner, Gooch, and others.
It muft not be concealed, however, that feveral others, foon after
the introduction of the ufe of the Agaric in this country, declared it
to be an ineffectual application; and at this day, though it may be
ufeful in certain cafes, yet in haemorrhages from the larger arteries,
the ligature is the only remedy depended on both in France and
England.
To prepare the Agaric for furgical purpofes, the hard outer part is
cut off, and the foft inner fubftance is divided into pieces of different
fizes, and beat with a hammer to render it ftill fofter.
* We are informed by Gleditch, that in Franconia they beat pieces of the innef
fubftance of this fungus, fo as to referable foft leather, and few them together to form
garments.
APPENDIX
( 161 )
In order that this work Jhould contain the whole of the
vegetable Materia Medica, included in the London
and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias, it has been thought
neceffary to add the following
APPENDIX.
Ammoniacum (gummi refina) Pharm. Lo?id. Ssf Edinb,
THIS concrete gummy-refmous juice is compofed of little lumps,
or tears, of a milky whitenefs : the external parts of the mafs
are yellowifh or brownih , and the white tears change to the fame
colour on being expofed for fome time to the air.
We have hitherto had no information concerning the plant which
produces this drug, nor of the manner in which it is obtained :
judging however from the feeds and pieces of an umbelliferous
plant, with which it is often intermixed, there is no doubt of its
being the produce of a vegetable of this kind ; and as Ammoniacum
is very analogous to galbanum, the former, as well as the latter, is
probably procured from a fpecies of the Bubon. According to the
antient account of this drug, it was produced in the weft of Egypt,
where the famous temple of Jupiter Amnion formerly ftood, now
the kingdom of Barca. At prefent it is brought here from Turkey,
and from the Eaft Indies.
Ammoniacum has a ftrong and fomewhat ungrateful fmell, and a.
naufeous fweetifh tafte, followed by bitternefs. Its effects are fimilar
to thofe of galbanum, or rather of aifafcetida, but it has been generally
preferred to either of thefe for refolving obstructions of the lungs ;
hence it is chiefly employed in afthmas and difficulty of expectora-
tion. In large dofes it opens the bowels.
No. 13. 2 S Angustura
( 162 )
ANGUSTURA (cortex) Pharm. Edinb.
ANGUSTURA Bark is imported here in thin convex pieces, of
about an inch and an half or lefs in breadth, and about fix inches in
length. It is not fibrous, but hard, compact, of a yellowifh brown
colour, and covered with a whitifh uneven epidermis. Reduced to
powder it has the yellow appearance of rhubarb. To the tafte it
manifefts a bitterifh and an aromatic quality, leaving a fenfation of
heat upon the tongue, which continues for fome time. Its odour,
when recent, is faid to be ungrateful, but in its dried ftate this is not
perceptible. An ounce of this bark affords, by means of alcohol,
about two drams of a refinous bitter extract ; and nearly three drams
and an half of a gummy extract may be obtained from the like
quantity, by water.
Some have contended that this drug mould be called Auguftine,
from St. Auguftin in Eaft Florida ; but it feems more properly named
Anguftura, which is a place in South America, whence it was
brought by the Spaniards to the Ifland of Trinidad.
From what tree it is obtained we find no certain account. It has
been fuppofed to be the bark of the Magnolia glauca; but, with more
probability, it has been fince thought to be that of the Brucea antidy-
fenterica; (fee Bruce s Travels, &c. vol. 5. p. 69. and y. F. Miller ^
tab. 25.) or Brucea ferruginea of L'Heritier and Aiton: (Hort. Kew. tit.
397) for the defcription of the bark of this tree, given by Mr. Bmce,
agrees very well with the cortex angufturae ; and as far as can be
judged by the bark of a living plant of this fpecies, now growing in
the Royal Garden at Kew, this opinion is ftill further confirmed.
During the laft five years, in which the Anguftura bark has been
known as a medicine in this country, it has been fuccefsfully ufed in
the characters of a febrifuge, tonic, and aftringent. In intermittents
it has been found equally effectual as Peruvian bark, and generally
more acceptable to the ftomach ; and in cafes of diarrhsea, dyfpepfia,
fcrophula, and great debility, it has been found to be an ufeful remedy.
(See Brande, in London Med, yournal for 1790.)
Balsamum
( i «3 )
BALSAMtM PERUVIANUM. Pharm. Lond. fcf Edinb.
THE tree which produces this balfam was not botanically afcer-
tained till the year 1781, when a fpecimen of it was fent byMutis,
from Terra Firma, to the younger Linnaeus, who has defcribed it in the
Supplementum plantarum under the name of Myroxylon peruiferum.
Its fynonyma are Hoitziloxitl. Hernand. Tbef. rer. Med. Nov. Hifp.
p. 51. cum Jig. and Cabureiba Pif. Ind. Hijl. Nat. et Med. p. 119.
It grows in Peru, Brafil, Mexico, and Terra Firma.
Two kinds of this balfam are imported here ; the common or
black, and the white. The firft, which is chiefly ufed, is about the
confidence of a fyrup, of a dark opake reddifh brown colour, in-
clining to black, and of an agreeable aromatic fmell, and a very hot
pungent tafte.
Balfam of Peru is a very warm aromatic medicine, hotter than any
of the other natural balfams ; hence, in cold phlegmatic habits, it
has been given to warm the conftitution, ftrengthen the nervous
fyftem, and attenuate vifcid humours. It has been alfo ufed by
furgeons in certain wounds and ulcers.
The White Balfam of Peru, or white ftorax, is brought here in
gourd fhells, and is of a pale yellow colour, thick, and tenacious, be-
coming by age folid and brittle.
This balfam is lefs hot than the former, but of a more agreeable
fragrant fmell, approathing fomewhat to that of ftorax.
Balsamum canadense. Pharm. Lond. Eff Edinb.
THIS balfam is the relinous juice of the Pinus Balfamea, or Balm
of Gilead Fir ; a tree now well known in this country: which mould
have been figured with the other pines, but the drawing of it was"
at that time unfortunately miflaid.
This balfam, which is tranfparent, of a light amber colour, and
tolerably firm confiftence, is brought to this country from Canada ;
and hence receives the name of Canada balfam. It may be con^
lidered
( i<>4 )
fidered as one of the pureft of the turpentines ; and on this account
it has lately been received into the Materia Medica ; and from being
lefs offenfive to the ftomach, promifes to fuperfede the balfam of
Copaiva.
Cassia lignea. {cortex ,flor -es nondum explicates!) Pbarm. Edinb,
IN the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia this is referred to the Laurus
Caflia ; but we have already ftated the caffia to be only a variety of the
Cinnamomum, and late obfervations tend to confirm this opinion.
As a medicine it is certainly in every refpect inferior to cinnamon.
Colomba (radix) Pbarm, Lond. Edinb.
Synonym A. Calumba. Redi, Exp. circa varias res naturalesy 1685.
p. 142. Raijs de Mofambiqite of the Portuguefe.
WE have no botanical account of the vegetable which furnifhes
this root. It is brought from Colomba in Ceylon in knobs, or
circular pieces, brown, and wrinkled on the outer furface, yellowifh
within, and confirming of cortical, woody, and medullary lamina.
Its fmell is aromatic ; its tafte is pungent, and naufeoufly bitter.
Practitioners in the Eaft Indies firft borrowed the ufe of this root
from the natives of thofe countries where it is produced, and found
it of great, fervice in moft diforders of the ftomach and bowels, and
efpecially in the cholera, fo fatal in hot climates. It flopped the
vomiting in this complaint, more fpeedily and effectually than any
other medicine ; an effect attributed to its property of correcting the
putrid difpofition of the bile. With this intention its ufe has been
recommended by Dr. Percival ; and it has been fuccefsfully ufed in
this country, not only in bilious complaints, but in various cafes of
dyfpepfia.
Cubeba
( )
ClJBEBA. Pharm* Lo?id. fcf Edinb.
IT is generally admitted that this is a fpecies of pepper, and in the
Supplementum plantarum a defcription of the Piper Cubeba, a fhrub
growing in the woods of Java, is given : but we have no certain
account that this is the fpecies which furnifhes the officinal cubebs ;
nor have we any information of the manner in which this fruit is
collected.
The long footftalk attached to the Cubeba diftinguimes it at firft
fight from the other kinds of pepper, and hence it has been called
Piper caudatum. Though ftill retained in both the Britifh Pharma-
copoeias, it is much inferior to pepper, and has juftly fallen into
difufe.
El em i (refina) Pharm* Lond.
THE London College refers this refin to the Amyris Elemifera of
Linnaeus ; but this celebrated naturalift, in applying the name Eiemi-
fera to Catefby's Frutex trifolius refinofus fioribus tetrapetalis albis
racemofis, has fince acknowledged himfelf to have been miftaken; as
appears in the Amcen. Acad. vol. 7. where he fuppofes the Elemi to
be produced by a fpecies of Burfera.
However, the parent plant of this refin is ftill unafcertained.
Elemi is brought here from the Spanifh Weft Indies ; it is moft
efteemed when foftifh, fomewhat tranfparent, of a pale whitifh colour,
inclining a little to green, and of a ftrong, though not unpleafant
fmell.
Its ufe is confined to ointments and plafters.
Ga miogia (gummi-refina) Pharm. Lond, & Edlnb.
BY the induftry of Kcenig, a phyfician who refided many years
at Tranquebar, it has been lately difcovered that the genuine Gam-
boge is the concrete juice of a tree which conftitutes a new genus,,
under the name Stalagmitis [Schr. Gen. 1585). It belongs to the
clafs Polygamia moncecia, and is fully defcribed by Profeflbr Murray
in the Comment. Gotting. (9. p. 175.) and App. Med. Vol 4*
No. 13. * T Th*
( 166 )
The Cambogia gutta of Linnaeus, according to Koenig, alfo affords
a yellow juice ; but this, on drying, acquires a brownifh hue, and is
confidered as a fpurious kind of Gamboge.
Gamboge is brought from the Eaft Indies, and is well known to
operate powerfully both upwards and downwards. Geoffroy fays,
that its emetic tendency is counteracted, if given in combination with
mercurius dulcis, and that it may be given with lefs danger from its
violence, in a liquid form than in fubftance. In hydropic cafes it is
often ufed to quicken the operation of other purgatives.
Though the ordinary dofe of this cathartic is two or three grains,
yet for the expulfion of the tape worm it has been given, with an
equal quantity of vegetable alkali, to the extent of fifteen grains.
Kino (refina) Pharm. Lond. & Edinb.
Sen gummi rtibrum ajlringens gamhienfe,
THE tree, from which this refin is obtained, though not yet
botanically afcertained, is known to grow on the banks of the river
Gambia, in Africa. The firft account of this drug is related by
Moor in his " Travels into the interior parts of Africa" Ed. i.p. 113.
by which we learn, that on wounding the bark of the tree, the fluid
Kino immediately iffues drop by drop, and by the heat of the fun is
formed into a hard mafs. This, which was for fome time confidered
as a fpecies of fanguis draconis, was afterwards fully explained, and
its medical character eftablifhed, by Dr. John Fothergill. ( Med. Obf
& Inq. vol. 1.)
Kino has a confiderable refemblance to catechu, but redder, and is
more firm, refinous", and aftringent. It is now in common ufe, and
is the moft efficacious vegetable aftringent, or ftyptic, in the Materia
Medica.
Myrrh A (gummi-refina) Pharm. Lond* fcf Edinb.
THOUGH Mr. Bruce (Travels to difcover the Source of the :Nile,
vol. 5. 27.) was unable to obtain a botanical fpechnen of the. tree
which
( i67 )
which produces Myrrh, yet, from his account of it, we have no doubt
In referring it to the genus mimofa ; for in his opinion it very
nearly refembles the acacia vera, which is the "mimofa nilotica
figured by us in the fecond volume of Medical Botany ; and this
correfponds with the defcription of the tree given by Diofcorides.
The trees producing Myrrh grow on the eaftern coaft of Arabia
Felix, and in that part of Abyflinia which is fituated near the Red
Sea, and called by Mr. Bruce Troglodyte. The fame author fays,
** In order to have Myrrh of the firft or more perfect fort, the
** Savages chufe a young vigorous tree, whofe branches are without
" mofs or any parafite plant, and above the firft large branches give
<f the tree a deep wound with an axe. The Myrrh which flows the
" firft year through this wound is Myrrh of the firft growth ; and
te never is in any great quantity. This operation is performed fome-
«' time after the rains have ceafed, that is, from April to June, and
*' the Myrrh is produced in July and Auguft. The fap, once
*' accuftomed to iflue through the gafh, continues fo to do fpon-
€t taneoufly at the return of every feafon : but the tropical rains,
which are very violent, and continue fix months, warn fo much
*' dirt, and lodge fo much water in the cut, that in the fecond year
'? the tree has begun to rot and turn foul in that part, and the Myrrh
" is of a fecond quality, and fells in Cairo about a third cheaper than
?? the firft. The Myrrh alfo produced from games near the roots,
" and in the trunks of old trees, is of the fecond growth and quality,
*' and fometimes worfe. This, however, is the good Myrrh of the
" Italian mops everywhere in Venice. It is of a black red foul
<( colour, folid, and heavy, lofmg nothing in weight, and eafily
4* diftinguifhed from that of Arabia Felix. The third and worft kind
" is gathered from old wounds or gafties formerly made in old trees,
*' or Myrrh that, pafling unnoticed, has hung upon the tree a whole
" year, of a black earth-like colour, heavy, with little fmell or bit—
" ternefs." (Phil. Tra?if. vol. 65. J — Mr. Bruce alfo fays, that falfa
gum is fraudulently mixed with the Myrrh.
The medical effects of Myrrh are warm, corroborant, and antifep-
..tic; it has alfo been fuccefsfully employed in phthifical cafes as a
pe&oral ; and though allied to fome of the balfams, it is found to be
more efficacious and lefs irritating to the fyftem.
■ , Palma
( 168 )
Pal ma (fru&us oleum expreflum) Tharm. Edinb.
PALM Oil is produced chiefly from the Cocos butyracea, thus
fpecifically named from the butter-like appearance of the oil which it
yields. It is well known, however, that other palms furnifh this
unctuous fubftance, as the Elaeis Guineenfis L. (fee Jacquin) ; alfo
" The palm-oil tree" of Sloane, or Palma oleofa of Hughes. To thefe
we may add the Palma dactylifera aculeata fructu corallino major of
Barrere (de la France cquinoxiale. J, and the fpinous palms (Palmiers
Avoira) mentioned by Aublet ( Guiane Franc, torn. 2. dpp. p.
In the Supplementum plantarum we find not only a full defcrip-
tion of the Cocos butyracea, on the authority of Mutis, but alfo an
account of the method ufed to obtain the oil by the inhabitants of
the warmer parts of America, where this palm is a native.
The fruit of this palm, which is triangular, yellow, and about
the fize of a plum, is bruifed and thrown into water, by which the
kernels are gradually diflblved without the aid of heat ; the oil then
rifes to the furface, and on being warned two or three times is renr.
dered fit for ufe.
When brought to this country, it is of the confiftence of an oint-
ment, and of an orange yellow colour, with little tafte, and of a ftrong
though not difagreeable fmell. When it becomes white it is rancid,
and ought to be rejected. In the countries where this oil is pro-
duced, it is ufed for culinary and dietetic purpofes ; with us it has
been confined to external application, in pains, tumours, and fprains;.
but it feems to have no advantage over the other bland oils.
Sagapenum (gummi-refirra) Pharm. Lond. & Edinb.
IT is conjectured that this concrete juice is the production of an
umbelliferous plant, like ammoniacum, and for the fame reafons. It
is brought from Perfia and Alexandria in large mattes, externally
yellowifh, internally paler, and of a horny clearnefs. Its tafte is
hot and biting, its fmell of the alliaceous or foetid kind*
Its virtues are fimilar to thofe which we have afcribed to alTafcetida,
but weaker, and confeguently it is lefs powerful ia its effects.
Sarcacolla
( i«9 )
SarcoColla (gummi-refina) Pbarm. Land.
LINNiEUS fuppofes this to be produced by the Penaza mucronata,
an Ethiopian fhrub of the order conglomerate . Others however
have, in this inftance, doubted his authority, and the fact is ftill
undetermined.
Sarcocolla is a concrete juice, brought from Perfia and Arabia in
fmall grains of a pale yellow, having alio fometimes mixed with them
a few of a deep red colour. Its tafte is bitter, but followed with fome
degree of fweetnefs. It has been chiefly ufed for external purpofes,
and, as its name imports, has been thought to conglutinate wounds
and ulcers ; but this opinion now no longer exifts.
It is an ingredient in the pulvis e ceruffa.
Radix Indica Lopeziana. Pbarm. Edinb.
THIS root is called after Lopez, a Portuguefe, who, according to
Redi, found it growing in the province of Zanquebar in Africa ; but
Gaubius ftates it to be a native of Afia, and brought from Goa in
Malacca to Batavia.
To what tree this root is to be referred wTe have not the means to
determine.
The root is brought in pieces of eight or nine inches in length,
and from one to two inches in thicknefs, though generally fmaller,
connfting of a whitifh or ftraw-coloured light wood, having a brownifh
firm medullary fubftance. Its bark is foft, wrinkled, brown, fome-
what fpongy, and covered with a thin yellowilri epidermis.
This root, which ponefTds no remarkably fenhble qualities, is re-
garded in the Eaft Indies as a medicine of extraordinary efficacy
in diarrhoeas ; and the numerous trials of it, made by Gaubius and
others, have tended greatly to confirm its reputation.
Its dofe, in powder, is from 15 to 30 grains, repeated three or
four times a day.
No. 13.
INDEX.
INDEX TO THIS VOLUME.
Systematic Names.
Clutia Eluieria
Officinal.
Cafcarilla
Pulmonaria officinalis
Lithofpermum officinale
Anchufa officinalis
Symphytum officinale
Cynogloflum officinale
Borago officinalis
Verbena officinalis
Veronica officinalis
Euphrafia officinalis
Antirrhinum Linaria
Vitex Agnus Cajlus
Strychnos Nux vomica
Phyfalis Alkekengi
Atropa Mandragora
Solanum nigrum
Afclepias Vincetoxicum
Capparis fpinofa
ASPERIFO LIJE.
Pulmonaria
Lithofpermum
Bugloflum
Confolida
Cynogloflum
Borago
PERSONATE
Verbena
Veronica
Euphrafia
Linaria
A gnus caftus
SOLANACES
Nux vomica
Alkekengi
Mandragora
Solanum
CONTORT JE.
Vincetoxicum
PUTAMINEjE,
Capparis
HESPERIDEjE.
Melaleuca Leucadendron Cajeputa
CYMOS£
Coffea
Coffea arabica
Sedum acre
Saxifraga granulata
Tropaeolum majus
Berberis vulgaris
Swietenia Mahagoni
SUCCULENTS
Sedum acre s. minus
Saxifraga alba
TRIHILATiE.
Nafturtium indicum
Berberis
Swietenia
English.
Cafcarilla
Common Lungwort
Common Gromwell
Officinal Buglofs
Comfrey
Hounds-tongue
Borage
Common Vervain
Male Speed-well
Common Eyebright
Common Toad-flax
Chafte-tree
Vomic Nut
Winter Cherry
Mandrake
Garden Nightfhade
Pace
5
7
9
io
12
17
19
21
24.
26
29
33
35
37
Officinal Swallow-wort 40
Caper-Bufh 4*
Cajaput-tree 44
Coffee- tree 48
Wall Stone-crop 54
White Saxifrage 56
Nafturtium 58
Common Barberry 60
Mahogany 6 a
INDEX.
Syjtematic Names.
Smilax China
Rufcus aculeatus
Ariftolochia Clcmatitis
Amygdalus Perjlca
Primus Lauro-cerafus
Betonica officinalis
Origanum Diclamnus
Teucrium Chamcedrys
Eryfimum officinale
Eryfimum Alliaria
Ranunculus acris
Paeonia officinalis
Cichorium Intybus
Matricaria Parthenium
La&uca virofa
Saponaria officinalis
Viola tricolor
Aftragalus cxfcapus
Ptcrocarpus J'antalinus
Siphonia elajlica
Thea
Wintera aromatica
Agrimonia Eupatoria
Gcum urbanum
SARMENTACEiE.
Officinal.
China
Rufcus
Ariftolochia tenuis
Enclish.
Chinefe Smilax
Knee Holly
Climbing Birthwort
POMACEiE.
Perfica
Laurocerafus
VERTI CILLATjE.
Betonica
Di<5tamnus creticus
Chamaedrys
S I L I QJJ O S JE.
Eryfimum
Alliaria
MULTISILIQ.U/E.
Ranunculus pratenfis
Paeonia
COMPOSITE.
Cichoreum
Matricaria
Ladtuca virofa
Peach-tree
Cherry Laurel
Wood Betony
Dittany of Crete
Common Germander
Hedge Muftard
Sauce-alone
Meadow Crowfoot
Common Peony
Wild Succory
Common Feverfew
Stinking Wild Lettuce
Pace
65
68
69
7.1
73
CARYOPHYLLEiE.
Saponaria
CAMPANACEI.
Viola tricolor
PAPILi ON ACEjE.
Aftragalus exfcapus
Santalum rubrum
TRICOCC£
Refina elaftica
Thea
Winteranus (cortex)
S E N T I C O S iE.
Agrimonia
Caryophyllata
Soapwort
Panfie
Stemlefs Milk Vetch
Red Saunders
Elaftio relin-tree
Tea-tree
Winter's bark-tree
Common Agrimony
Common Avens
78
80
82
84
86
88
9i
94
97
99
102
104
107
109
m
116
122
124
126
INDEX.
Systematic Names,
Sambucus Ebulus
Rhus coriaria
Gentiana purpurea
Chelidonium ma jus
Santalum album
Angelica fyheftris
D U M O S JE.
Officinal.
Ebulus
Sumach
ROTACE£
Curfuta
RHOEADES.
Chelidonium majus
B I C O R N E S.
Santalum citrinum
U MBELLATiE.
Angelica fylveftris
Phellandrium aquaticum Fceniculum aquaticum
Oenanthe crocata
Cicuta virofa
Galium Aparine
Vifcum album
Oenanthe crocata
Cicuta aquatica
STELLATE,
Aparine
English.
Dwarf Elder
Elm-leav'd Sumach
Purple Gentian
Greater Celandine
Yellow Saunders
Wild Angelica
Fine-leav'dWaterHemlock 140
Water Dropwort 142
Water Hemlock
Cleavers
CONGLOMERATE,
Vifcus Mifleltoc
F I L I C E S.
Polypodium vulgare Polypodium
Afplenium Scolopendrium Scolopendrium
Lichen caninus
Boletus igniarius
A L G M.
Lichen cinereus terreftris
FUNGI.
Agaricus chirurgorum
Common Polypody
Hart's Tongue
Ground Liverwort
Agaric
Pace
128
130
132
136
139
140
142
145
148
150
153
15s
157
159
Appendix
161
A GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
A GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES,
In which the Plants are arranged according to their Natural Orders.
I.— CONIFERS
Systematic Names. Officinal. ' English. Plate
Pinus fylvejlris Pix liquida Scotch Fir 207
■ Picea Terebintliina vulgaris Silver Fir Tree 209
1 Abies Pix Burgundica Norway Spruce Fir Tree 208
. Larix Terbinthina veneta Common White Larch Tree 2 1 o
Juniperus communis Juniperus Common Juniper 95
• — ■ ■ Lycia Olibanum gummi rejlna Olibanum Juniper 206
'■ — Sabina Sabina Common Savin 94.
it A MENTACEiE.
SzWxfragilis Salix Crack Willow 198
Juglans regia Juglans Common Walnut Tree 127
Quercus Robur Quercus Common Oak Tree 126
Piftacia Terebinthus Terebinthina chia Common Turpentine Tree 153
Lentifcus Maftiche Common Maftich Tree 152
nr.— C O M P O S I TJE.
Arftium Lappa Bardana Common Burdock 15
Centaurea beneditla Carduus benediftus Holy Thiftle 42
Cynara Scoly?nus Cinara Artichoke 199
Leontodon Taraxacum Taraxacum Common Dandelion 3
Artemifia Abrotanum Abrotanum Common Southernwood 1 1 9
. > Abjinthium Abfinthium Common Wormwood 120
. 1 vulgaris Artemilia . Common Mugwort 121
. maritima Abfinthium maritimum Sea Wormwood 122
• . Santonia Santonicum Tartarian Wormwood 123
Tanacetum vulgare Tanacetum Common Tanfy j 1 5
Tuflilago Farfara Tuflilago Colt's Foot 1 3
Anthemis nobilis Chamaemelum Common Camomile 103
Pjretbrum Pyrethrum Pellitory of Spain 104
Chicorium Intybus Chicorenm Wild Succory 248
Matricaria Panhenium Matricaria Common Feverfew 249
Laftuca 'virofa Laftuca virofa Stinking Wild Luttuce 250
Inula Hdenium Enula campana Elecampane 108
Arnica montana Arnica Mountain Arnica 4
Achillea Millefolium Millefolium Common Yarrow 64
IV. — A GGREG ATiE.
Valeriana officinalis Valeriana fylveftris Officinal Valerian 96
V. — CON GLOMERATiE.
Plaatago major Plantago Great Plantane 14
Vifcum album Vifcum Mifleltoe 270
2 X
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
VL— UMBELLATE
Systematic Names. Officinal. Enclish. Plate
Eryngium maritimum Eryngium Sea Eryngo 102
Daucus Carota Dauctrs fylveftris Wild Carrot 1 61
Conium maculatum Cicuta Common Hemlock 22
Ferula AJfa fcetida Afafcetida, gummi rejina Afafcetida Gigantic Fennel 8
Angelica Archangelica Angelica Garden Angelica 50
Angelica fylveftris Angelica fylveftris Wild Angelica 265
Phellandrium aquticum Fceniculum aquaticum Firie-leav'd Water Hemlock 266
(Eenanthe crocata CEnanthe crocata Water Dropwort 267
Cicuta virofa Cicuta aquatica Water Hemlock 268
Bubon Galbanum Galbanum, gnmmi rejina Lovage-leaved Bubon 12
Cuminum Cy?nynum Cuminum Cumin 191
Coriandrum Jativum Coriandrum Common Coriander 181
Sium nod 'forum Sium Creeping Water Parfnep 182
Imperatoria Oftruthium Imperatoria Common Mafterwort 35
Paftinaca Opopanax Opoponax, gummi rejina Rough Parfnep 1 1 3
Anethum gra-veolens Anethum Common Dill 159
■ — — — ■ Fceniculum Fceniculum Common Fennel 160
Carum Carui Caruon Common Carraway 45
Pimpinella Saxifrage Fimpinella Small Burnet Saxifrage 179
Anifum Anifum Anife 1 80
Apium Petrojtlinum Petrofelinum Common Parlley 73
JJgufticum Levifticum Levifticum Lovage 190
VII. — H EDERACEiE.
Vit\s vinifera Vitis Common Vine 195
Panax quinqejolium Ginfeng Ginfeng 99
VIII. — S AR M E N T AC EJE.
Smilax China China Chinefe Smilax 236
Smilax Sarjaparilla Sarfaparilla Sarfaparilla Smilax 194
Ciflampelos Pareira Pareira brava Pareira brava Ciflampelos 82
Ariftolochia Serpentaria Serpentaria virginiana Snakeroot Birthwort 106
longa Ariftolochia rotunda Long-rooted Birthwort 1 07
Clematitis Ariftolochia tenuis Climbing Birthwort 258
Afarum europaum Afarum Afarabacca 86
Rufcus aculeatus Rufcus Knee Holly 237
IX. -STELLAT^.
Rubia tinclorum Rubia tindtorum Dyer's Madder 68
Galium Aparine Aparine Cleavers 269
Spigelia marilandica Spigelia marilandica Perennial Worra-grafs 105
X. -CYMOSiE,
Coffea arabica CofFea Coffee-tree 230
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
XL— C UCURBITACEiE.
Systematic Names. Officinal. English. Plati
Cucumis Colocynthis Colocynthis Bitter Cucumber 1 75
Momordica Elaterium Cucumis agreftis Wild Cucumber 43
Bryonia alba Bryonia White Briony 189
XII. — S OLONACEiE.
Solanum nigrum . Solanum Garden Nightfhade 226
Solanum Dulcamara Dulcamara Woody Nightlhade 33
Atropa Belladonna Belladonna Deadly Nightfhade t
Atropa Mandragora Mandragora Mandrake 225
Hyofciamus niger Hyofciamus Black Henbane 5 2
Datura Stramonium Stramonium Common Thorn Apple 124
Nicotiana Tabacum Nicotiana Tobacco 60
Capficum annuum Piper indicum Annual Capficum j 44
Phyfalis Aikekengi Alkekengi Winter Cherry 224
Verbafcum Thapfus Verbafcum Common Mullein 125
Digitalis purpurea Digitalis Common Foxglove 24
Strychnos Nux vomica Nux vomica Vomic Nut 223
XIII. — C AMPANACEiE.
Convolvulus Scammonia Scammonium Scammony Bindweed 5
Convolvulus Jalappa Jalapium Jalap Bindweed 21
Lobelia Jiphilitica Lobelia Blue Lobelia 63
Viola oaorata Viola Sweet Violet 8 1
Viola tricolor Viola tricolor Panfie 252
XIV. — C O N T O R TJE.
Cinchona officinalis Peruvianus cortex Peruvian Bark Tree 200
Cinchona rubra Cortex per. rub. Red Peruvian Bark 201
Afclepias Vincetoxicum Vincetoxicum Officinal Swallow- wort 227
XV. — R OTACE^E.
Gentiana lutea Gentiana Yellow Gentian 156
Gentiana purpurea Curfuta Purple Gentian 262
Chironia Centaurium Centaurium minus Leffer Centanry 1 57
Menyanthes trifoliata Trifolium paludofum Buck Bean 2
XVI. — S E P I A R I M.
Olea europaa Oliva Common European Olive 136
XVII. — B I C O R N E S.
Santalum album Santalum citrinum Yellow Saunders 264
Arbutus Unja urfi Uva urfi Bear-Berry 70
Styrax officinale Styrax, rejina Storax Tree 7 1
Sty rax Benzoin Benzoe, rejina Gum Benjamin Tree 72
Rhododendron Cbryfantbum Rhododendron Yellow Rhododendron 149
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
Systematic Name*.
Anchufa tinilcria
Anchufa officinalis
Pulmonaria officinalis
Lithofpermum officinale
Symphytum officinale
Cynogloflum officinale
Borago officinalis
XVIII. — A SPERIFOLl^.
Officinal. English,
Teucrium Marum
Teucrium Scordium
Teucrium Cbamadrys
Thymus vulgaris
Thymus Serpyllu/n
Melifla officinalis
Hyflbpus officinalis
Lavandula Sp:ca
Origanum <vulgare
Origanum Murjorana
Origanum DiSiamnus
Mentha piperita
Mentha viridis
Mentha Pulegium
Marrubium vulgare
Salvia officinalis
Rofinarinus officinalis
Glecoma bederacea
Betonica officinalis
Gratiola officinalis
Veronica officinalis
Veronica Beccabunga
Verbena officinalis
Euphrafia officinalis.
Antirrhinum Linaria
Vitex Agnus Cajlus
Papaver Rbceas
Papavcr fomniferum
Chelidonium majus
Capparis fpinofa
Anchufa
Bugloflum
Pulmonaria
Lithofpermum
Cofolida
CynoglolTum
Eorago
Dier's Buglofs
Officinal Buglofs
Common Lungwort
Common Gromwell
Comfrey
Houndftongue
Borage
XIX. — V E R T I C I L L A TiE.
Marum fyriacum
Scordium
Chamaxlrys
Thymus
Serpyllum
Melifla
Hyflbpus
Lavendula
Origanum
Marjorana
Diclamnus creticus
Mentha piperitis
Mentha fativa
Pulegium
Marrubium
Salvia
Rofmarinus
Hedera terrellris
Betonica
XX. — P ERSONATiE.
Gratiola
Veronica
Becabunga
Verbena
Euphrafia
Linaria
Agnus Caftus
XXL— R H O E A D E S.
Papaver erraticum
Papaver album, Opium
Chelidonium majus
XXII. — P UTAMINE^E.
Capparis
Herb Maftich
Water Germander
Common Germander
Garden Thyme
Wild Thyme
Common Balm
Common Hyflbp
Common Lavender
Common Marjoram
Sweet Marjoram
Dittany of Crete
Pepper Mint
Spear-Mint
Pennyroyal- Mint
Common Horehound
Garden Sage
Rofemary
Ground Ivy
Wood Betony
Hedge -Hyflbp
Male Speedwell
Brooklime
Common Vervain
Common Eyebright
Common Toadflax
Chafte-tree
Red Poppy
Common White Poppy
Greater Celandine
Plate
92
214.
212
*«3
2l6
217
56
57
243
109
no
H7
65
55
164
165
242
169
170
171
97
3*
87
28
241
4f
219
7
218
220
221
222
Caper- Bufli
186
185
263
228
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
"Systematic Names
Sifymbrium Naffurtium
Cardamine pratenjis
Sinapis nigra
Cochlearia officinalis
Cochlearia Armoraci*
Eryfimum officinale
Eryfimum Alliaria
XXIII.— S I L I QJJ OS^.
Officinal.
Nafturtium aquaticum
Cardamine
Sinapi
Cochlearia hortenfis
Raphanus rufticanus
Eryfimum
Alliaria
English.
Plate
Water- Crefles
48
Ladies Smock
3°
Common Muftard
Scurvy -Grafs
29
Horfe-Radifh
150
Hedge Muftard
244
Sauce-alone
245
XXIV.— P APILIONACE/E.
Dolichos pruriens
GeofFroya inermis
Spartium fcoparium
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Aftragalus Tragacantha
Aftragalus exfcapus
Trigonella Faenicum gracum
Pterocarpus fantalinus
Dilichos
GeofFraea
Genifta
Glycyrrhiza
Tragacantha, gummi
Aftragalus exfcapus
Fcenum graecum
Santalum rubrum
Cowhage Dolichos 1 7 2
Smooth Ballard Cabbage-tree 1 1 2
Common Broom
Common Liquorice
Goats Thorn Milk Vetch
Stemlefs Milk Vetch
Common Fenugreek
Red Saunders
89
167
98
253
158
2 5*
XXV.— LO M EiIT ACEjE,
Caffia Senna
Caffia Fijlula
Mimofa Catechu
Mimofa nilotica '
Tamarindus indica
Senna
Caflia fiftularis
Cetechu, extraftum
Arabicum, gummi
Tamarindus
Haematoxylum campechianum Lignum Campechenfe
Polygala Senega Seneka
Fumaria officinalis Fumaria
Senna Caflia 162
Purging Caflia 163
Catechu Mimofa 66
Egyptian Thorn Mimofa 67
Tamarind Tree 166
Logwood Tree 17
Rattlefnake-Root Milk-Wort 93
Common Fumitory 88
Aconitum Napellus
Delphinium Staphifagria
Helleborus niger
Helleborus foetidus
Anemone pratenjis
Ranunculus acris
Paeonia officinalis
Clematis reSla
Di&amnus alius
Ruta graveolens
Potentilla reptans
Rubus ideeus
Rofa centifolia
Rofa galhca
Rofa canina
Agrimonia Eupatoria
Geum urbauum
XXVI. — M U L T I S I L I QJJ JE.
Napellus
Staphifagria
Helleborus niger
Helleborafter
Pulfatilla nigricans
Ranunculus pratenfis
Paeonia
Flammula Jovis
DicFamnus albus
Ruta
XXVIL— S ENTICOSiE.
Pentaphyllum
Rubus idasus
Rofa damafcena
Rofa rubra
Cynolbatus, fruclus
Agrimonia
Caryophyllata
2 y
Common Wolf's Bane
Stavefacre
Black Flellebore
Bear's Foot
Meadow Anemone
Meadow Crowfoot
Common Peony
Upright Virgin's Bower
Baftard Dittany
Common Rue
Cinquefoil
Rafp-Berry
Hundred-leav'd Rofe
Red Officinal Rofe
Hip, or Dog Rofe
Common Agrimony
Common Avens
154
18
»9
148
246
247
62
116
37
59
138
140
141
'39
258
259
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
XXVIII.— P OMACEiE.
Systematic Names
Pyrus Cydonia
Prunus domejlica
Prunus fpinofa
Prunus Laurocerafus
Amygdalus commnnis
Amygdalus Per/tea
Punica Granatum
Citrus Medica
Citus Aur ant turn
Ribes rubrum
Ribes nigrum
Officinal.
Cydonium malum
Prunum gallicum
Prunum fylveftre
Laurocerafus
Amygdala
Perfica
Granatum
Limon
Aurantium hifpalenfe
Ribes rubrum
Ribes nigrum
Myrtus Pimenta
Caryophyllus aromaticus
Melaleuca Leucadendron
Sedum acre
Saxifraga granulata
Althaea officinalis
Malva Jylvejtns
Guaiacum officinalis
Quaffia amara
Quaffia Simaruba
Linum ufitatiffimum
Oxalis Acetzfella
Dianthus Caryophyllus
Saponaria officinalis
XXIX— H ESPERIDEjE.
Pimento
Caryophyllum aromaticum
Cajeputa
XXX.— S U C C ULENTE
Sedum acre s. minus
Saxifraga alba
Ekglish.
Quince Tree
Prune, or Plum Tree
Sloe Tree
Cherry Laurel
Common Almond
Peach Tree
Pomegranate
Lemon Tree
Orange Tree
Red Currant
Black Currant
All -Spice
Clove Tree
Cajeput-tree
Wall Stone- crop
White Saxifrage
XXXI.— COLUMNIFER^E, S. MALVACEAE.
Althsea
Malva
XXXII.— G RUINALES.
Guaiacum
Quaffia
Simarouba
Linum
Acetofella
Marlh Mallow-
Common Mallow
Guaiacam
Bitter Quaffia
Simaruba Quaffia
Common Flax
Wood- Sorrel
XXXIIL— C ARYOPHYLLE^.
Caryophyllum rub.
Saponaria
Clove Pink
Soapwort
Ciftus creticus
Hypericum perforatum
Fraxinus Ornus
XXXIV— CALY CANT H E MM.
XXXV.— A SCYROIDE^.
Cretan Ciftus
St. John's Wort
Flowering Am
Ladanum, rejina
Hypericum
Manna
Plate
79
84
240
83
239
58
184
.83
74
75
26
135
229
231
232
S3
54
16
76
77
1 1 1
20
80
251
9»
10
36
XXXVI.— C O ADUNATjE.
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
XXXVII— D UMOSiE.
Ststematic Names.
Rhamnus catharticus
Sambucus nigra
Sambucus Ebulus
Rhus cor i aria
Amyris gileadetifis
Copaifera officinalis
Toluifera Balfamum
Officinal.
Spina cervina
Sambucus
Ebulus
Sumach
Balfamum gileadenfe
Balfamum Copaiva
Balfamum tolutanum
^Efculus Hippo-cajianum
Tropaeolum majus
Berberis vulgaris
Swietenia Mahagoni
Croton Cafcarilla
Clutia Eluteria
Ricinus communis
Siphonia elajiica
Thea
Wintera aromatica
Solfola Kali
Chenopodium Vulvaria
Rumex aquaticus
Rumex Acetofa
Rheum palmatum
Polygonum Bijiorta
Laurus Cinnamomum
Laurus nobilis
Laurus SaJJafras
Laurus Camphora
Canella alba
Myriftica Mofcbata
Parietaria officinalis
Doritenia Contrayerva
Ficus Carica
Urtica dioica
Morus nigra
Ulmus campejlris
Daphne Mezereum
XXXVIII. — T RIHILAT^.
Hippocaftanum
Nafturtium indicum
Berberis
Swietenia
XXXIX. — TR I CO CCiE.
Cafcarilla
Cafcarilla
Ricinus
Refina elaftica
Thea
Winteranus (cortex)
XL. — O LERACE£.
Barilla, Natron
A triplex fcetida
Hydrolapathum
Acetofa
Rhabarbarum
Biftorta
Cinnamomum
Laurus
SafTafras
Camphora
Canella alba
Nux mofchata
XLI. — S CABRIDiE.
Parietaria
Contrayerva
Carica
Urtica
Morum
Ulmus
XLIL— V ERPECUL^E.
Mezereum
XLIIL— P ALMiE.
English.
Purging Buckthorn
Common Flack Elder
Dwarf Elder
Elm-leav'd Sumach
Balfam of Gilead Tree
Balfam of Capaiva Tree
Balfam of Tolu Tree
Horfe-Chefnut
Nafturtium
Common Barberry
Mahogany
Willow -leaved Croton
Cafcarilla
Palma Chrilli
Elaftic Refin-tree
Tea-tree
Winter's Bark-tree
Prickly Salt- Wort
Stinking Goofefoot
Water Dock
Common Sorrel
Officinal Rhubarb
Brhtort Snakeweed
Cinnamon Tree
Sweet Bay
SafTafras Tree
Camphor Tree
Laurel-leaved Canella
Nutmeg Tree
Wall Pellitory
Contrayerva
Fig Tree
Common Nettle
Mulberry Tree
Common Elm
Mezcreon
Plate
114
260
26 1
192
137
'93
128
233
234
23S
4i
21 1
61
255
256
257
H3
'45
178
69
46
34
27
3*
3'
'55
117
'34
142
5»
130
146
1 29
197
2$
i
4
GENERAL INDEX TO THE PLATES.
Systematic Names.
Piper nigrum
Piper longum
Acorus Calamus
Arum macula turn
Amomum Zingiber
Amomum Cardamomum
Curcuma longa
Kaempferia rotunda
J j ilium candidum
Scilla maritima
Allium fativum
Veratrum album
Colchicum awumnalc
Crocus fati-vus
Aloes /pedes varia
Convallaria Polygonatum
Iris f.orentina
Jris P/eudo-acorus
Orchis mafcula
Calamus Rotang
Saccharum officivarum
Poly podium -vulgar e
Polypodium Filix mas
Afplenium Trichomanoides
Afplenium Scolopendrium
Lichen ijlandicus
Lichen caninus
loletus igniarius
XLIV.— P I P E R I T IE.
Officinal.
Piper nigrum
Piper longum
Calamus aromaticus
Arum
XLV.— S CITAMINE£>
Zingiber
Cardamomum minus
Curcuma
Zedoaria
XLVI. — L I L I A C E JE.
Lilium album
Scilla
Allium
Helloborus albus
Colchicum
Crocus
Aloe
Convallaria
XL VII. — E N S A TJE.
Iris florentina
Iris paluftris-
XLVIIL— O RCHIDEjE.
Satyrium
XLIX.— TRIPETALO
Sanguis draconis
L.— C ALAM ARtiE,
LI.— G R A M I N A.
Saccharum
LIL— F I L I C E S.
Polypodium
Filix
Trichomanes
Scolopendrium
LIH. — M U S C I.
LIV.— A L G JE.
Lichen iflandicus
Lichen cinereus terreftris
LV. — F U N G I.
Agaricus chirurgorum Agaric
English. Plate
Black Pepper 1 87
Long Pepper 188
Sweet Flag 173
Common Arum 25
Ginger
Cardamom
Turmeric
Zedoary
Common White Lily
Officinal Squill
Common Garlick
White Hellebore
Common Meadow Saffron
Saffron
Aloe
Solomon's Seal
Florentine Orris
Yellow Water Flag
Male Orchis
1DEJE.
Dragon's Blood Trea
Sugar Cane
Common Polypody
Male Fern
Maidenhair
Hart's Tongue
Eryngo-leaved Lichen
Ground Liverwort
11
131
132
133
101
11S
168
loo
177
176
202
44
39
40
90
174
196
271
49
204
272
205
273
274
MEDIC HI
\ at
«
)
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11